Hodl is simply a misspelling of Hold which expresses the zeitgeist of crypto investors right now. The term originated on the Bitcointalk forum in the thread titled "I AM HODLING", in which a user named GameKyuubi who made the spelling mistake when expressing his thoughts (after drinking whiskey) about his mindset when it came to Bitcoin trading.

The phrase has also been described as meaning "Hold on for dear life." This is a reference to the astonishing levels of cryptocurrency markets as the space is still so premature. Hang on, in other words, because your portfolio is going for a wild ride no matter what.

If you don't "hodl" and you end up getting overly emotional during daytrading, you could lose a significant chunk, if not all, of your crypto stack. So hodling is suggested as the superior portfolio strategy for novices and amateurs who just like most of us have no experience in daytrading of any kind, much less the hyper-volative daytrading we see with cryptocurrencies.