HODL becomes a rallying cry in the midst of cryptocurrency crash

Cryptocurrencies are crashing. People are panicking.

The crypto faithful, however, abide by one word: HODL.

HODL, an intentional typo of "hold," has become the rallying cry for cryptocurrency traders in the face of this recent Bitcoin crash, which has extended to other popular coins like Ethereum and Litecoin.

It's an instruction for traders to, um, "hold" their Bitcoin instead of selling it.

There's a certain emotion to it, pointing to the steadfast belief of some that blockchain-based currencies will change the world — and generate a lot of value for people holding crypto along the way. "HODL" is being tossed around by the crpto crowd the way U.S. soccer fans chant "I believe that we will win."

The term HODL isn't brand new. It has popped up in the midst of other Bitcoin crashes, and is being employed this time to stave off catastrophe, too.

Google Trends shows how search interest has spiked for HODL in recent months.

In the past couple days, HODL has proven more important than ever.

Bitcoin's dramatic rally in 2017 moved the cryptocurrency from weird internet quirk to mainstream phenomenon. The blockchain-based currency started 2017 valued under $1,000 and finished the year close to $20,000.

In recent days, however, bitcoin has crashed back to... well, closer to $10,000. That means plenty of people have made money, but a lot of people who bought into the cryptocurrency in hopes of a similar rise in 2018 are (at least thus far) disappointed.

Enter HODL. The term is now being used by people who have decided not to sell during the recent crash as well as a kind of advice against reacting to the dramatic swings of cryptocurrency prices.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

But why the intentional typo from "hold" to "HODL," you ask? Because the internet is a quirky-ass place. And because bitcoin was born here! So Wall Street can take its correct spellings and shove it up their Brooks Brothers Butts.

HODL comes a now-legendary message board post entitled "I AM HODLING." The screed came from what appeared to be a very drunk man in the midst of a 2013 Bitcoin crash.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Internet slang and lingo has long embraced misspellings that tend to happen when typing. The early blog generation — the LiveJournals, Xangas, Hipster Runoffs of the internet — invented the "teh," the unnecessary pluralz, the always lower case "i's" and u n mes.

But few pieces of slang have become a rallying cry like HODL.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

There's plenty more crypto slang where that came from. A quick crawl through the internet yields a few more:

Shills: these are people who endorse altcoins without anybody asking their GD opinions. From what I can see, there are plentyyyyy of shills about.

Nocoiner: u if u don't buy into crypto. Or, a derisive term for people who missed out on buying Bitcoin, and are now sad and bitter. You also are a frequent experiencer of something we here at Mashable like to call "SchadenCoin."

Shitcoin: (BOY THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF COIN TERMS IN HERE) An altcoin that becomes worthless, or is a scam. You can still make money on a shitcoin, as long as you're in and out at the right time.

Pump and Dump: This isn't a phrase native to cryptocurrencies, but has become part of the conversation due to the aforementioned shills. A "pump and dump" refers to buying up a bunch of coins, talking up how great the coin is, and then selling it if the price rises.

Bag Holder: Don't be this dude! Someone who buys during a high and then has no opportunity to sell without losing money, so he holds onto his bag for an eternity.

BUT HEY, according to the HODLers, even for bag holders, HODLing is the safest thing you can do. Happy HODLing!