Diamond Hands: The Art of HODLing Bitcoin
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Diamond Hands: The Art of HODLing Bitcoin Why Understanding What You Hold Changes EverythingBitcoin is an absolute raging bull. In just 15 years, it's gone from a penny to a hundred thousand bucks - a mind-bending- Take a look at this chart: Despite some dramatic ups and downs, the blue line has been trending up its entire existence. And yet somehow, many people have still managed to lose money! How? They didn't know how to HODL. This truth hit home on December 18, 2013, when a trader named GameKyuubi, after a few too many whiskeys, posted on Bitcointalk forum. Bitcoin had just crashed 24% in a single day. With trembling hands, he typed out a title that would soon become a legend: "I AM HODLING." "I type d that tyitle twice because I knew it was wrong the first time. Still wrong. w/e." But here's what GameKyuubi and many others didn't realize at the time: this drunken wisdom was deeper than they knew. They weren't just holding computer money - they were sitting on the Manhattan of our era. Imagine for a moment going back to the 1700s and buying a block of Manhattan real estate. Would you know to never, ever sell it? Would you have the conviction to hold it through wars, depressions, and decades of change? Easy to say yes now, right? That's hindsight. But the wealthy old money families of New York? They hold that real estate through generations, understanding its true value beyond market ups and downs. Bitcoin is our generation's Manhattan – and most people don't realize it yet. But the hard part isn't the buying – it's the HODLing!
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Let me paint you a picture of what HODLing really looks like: Bitcoin has been declared dead by the fake news 415 times during its life. It's easy to say,
'If only I'd bought in 2013, i'd be rich!'
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it's not as easy as you think! Could you really have held through a -93% crash that same year? How about -84% in 2018, or -77% in 2022? All while the fake news screamed 'Bitcoin is dead!' and skeptics celebrated its demise here, here and here? MANY sold during these crashes, only those who maintained conviction were rewarded with new all-time highs.
And these aren't just numbers on a chart – they represent months and even years of intense FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) all while "experts" confidently explained how Bitcoin was finished... again.
Yet every single time Bitcoin "died," it somehow came back stronger! Those who held through the nightmarish crashes built generational wealth. Not because they were smarter. Not because they were better traders. But because they had the conviction to hodl when everything looked hopeless.
'every single time Bitcoin "died," it somehow came back stronger'
Lessons from Early Sellers
This is Kristoffer Koch.
In 2009, Kristoffer Koch spent $27 on 5,000 Bitcoin while writing his thesis. In 2013, he sold 1,000 of them to buy an apartment in Oslo for $100k. A life-changing profit, right?
It’s just that, those same 1,000 Bitcoin today? Well, they would be worth about $100 million…
Let that sink in. He didn't panic sell. He didn't get scammed. He made what seemed like a perfectly rational decision - and yet, he essentially traded a Manhattan penthouse for a studio apartment.
The irony? Koch was the perfect 'accidental HODLer' - he only held because he completely forgot he owned them in the first place! Sometimes the best investment strategy is a bad memory. He probably wishes he ‘forgot’ for a few years longer...
Then there's Laszlo Hanyecz, the Pizza Guy who in 2010, spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two Papa John's pizzas, one with cheese, and one with olives and peppers.
It seemed like a reasonable transaction at the time– the coins were only worth about $40. But today? Those might be the most expensive pizzas in history, worth about $1 billion...
Looking Forward: The New Manhattan
HODLing isn't just a strategy – it's a test of conviction. It means watching your net worth drop wildly and still sleeping at night.
It means being called crazy for years until suddenly you're a genius. It's understanding Bitcoin's path to adoption isn't a straight line, but a trajectory over time. Bitcoin's story isn't over - it's only begun. Just like those early Manhattan landowners couldn't imagine the glistening skyscrapers of today, we can only imagine what Bitcoin will one day become. But one thing is crystal clear: every crash in Bitcoin's history has been followed by new all-time highs.
History will only ask one question: did you HODL?
The Bottom Line
- From a penny to $100,000 - Bitcoin's up 999 million percent
- Every crash followed by new all-time highs
- Trading is hard, HODLing is harder
- True conviction beats perfect timing
- Sometimes the best strategy is doing nothing
Diamond hands aren't born - they're forged through understanding-->
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Coming Next Week: ‘The Bitcoin Halving: Why 2024 Changed Everything'