"HODL is a term derived from a misspelling of "hold," in the context of buying and holding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It's also commonly come to stand for "hold on for dear life" among crypto investors.

 

The term HODL (or hodl) originated in 2013 with a post to the Bitcointalk forum. The price of Bitcoin in 2013 was volatile, surging to over $1,100 at the beginning of December, 2013, up from just over $100 in April of the same year.12 Reports on Dec. 16, 2013, of a Chinese ban on payment companies working with Bitcoin exchanges may have inspired the original Bitcointalk post." - Investopedia.com