HODL, or Holding On for Dear Life, is a very common tactic in the crypto markets to benefit from its long-term gains. Initially, with Bitcoin, HODL generated several millionaires.

With this article, we will try to explain the meaning and origin of HODLing, the HODLing trends and the top cryptos to HODL to make you the next crypto millionaire.

Origin and Meaning

HODL in crypto markets stands for Holding On for Dear Life. The concept of HODL is actually very old. It comes from combining two concepts: dollar cost averaging and a long-term view of the markets.

Dollar-cost averaging says that you should invest a fixed amount of money periodically to get benefits from both bear and bull markets. During the bear markets, the low prices bring you a higher amount of crypto, and during the bull periods, you save yourself from panic buying (FOMO) at the top.

Keeping a long-term view is essential for HODL because only then can you hold on to the invested crypto. Otherwise, when crypto markets see a drawdown of more than 60% (which is very common), you might be tempted to exit all investments and save some money.

Benefits of HODLing

The benefit of HODLing is evident from the multi-year gains it has given almost all cryptocurrencies.

• Bitcoin went from $16,000 to $72,000 within the last one and a half-years.
• Bonk gained 6700% in the last year.
• Solana gave a 1000% gain since last year, from $16 to $170.
• In the last five years (since 2019), Polygon, despite being an underperformer, has experienced a 100x rally or 10,000% in gains.

Do People Really HODL?

Yes, and we have data to back up the fact that most people who invest in crypto markets do HODL for at least one year, which is very high compared to traditional markets, which are much more mature.

Let us take a look at Bitcoin. The top crypto dominates 55% of the crypto market cap and tends to have a lion’s share among all crypto ETFs.

According to data from Cointelegraph, 75% of all Bitcoin holders have held the coin for at least six months. Further, a data metric from Into The Block suggests that more than 50% of people holding Bitcoin have held it for at least a year. 

There are also two incidents where users have exercised HODL for greater benefits.

The first incident is from Mt Gox, which was found to have been hacked in 2014 and lost 850k Bitcoins. Of all coins, In 2024, after almost ten years, they returned about 90k Bitcoins to their users. Despite receiving BTC after a long period, users chose to hold it rather than sell it in the market for an instant 100x gain ($650 to $65,000).

This shows that HODL is not only a popular concept but also a widely adopted practice in cryptocurrency investing.

Top 5 Cryptos to HODL in 2025

• Ethereum

Ethereum is the first choice regarding HODL for the next year. The crypto has been pinned below $2500 because of one major factor. The grayscale ETF has sold more than $2.5 billion ETH within a month and is expected to do so for at least the next month. 

After the end of this sale, ETH is expected to regain its $4,000 level, but it can also proceed due to high adoption rates after a multi-year low gas fee and low transaction costs.

• XRP

Ripple finally came victorious out of its four-year-long battle against the SEC. The company has to pay a $120 million fine, which also gives it full legal clarity and immunity that XRP will no longer be considered a security in the US.

The crypto has been stuck at a $0.5 level for over two years and now looks to cross $1 within 2024. Due to its strong demand among institutions, it might even cross $5 in the next couple of years.

• Solana

Solana has been a true winner in 2024. Not only did it manage to create a 7.5 billion dollar memecoin market, but it also increased its own TVL and crypto price by almost 10x. As the craze for memecoins grows, Solana will be gaining due to higher gas fees and network utilization.

In the next couple of years, Solana could cross $300, making it one of the perfect candidates for HODL in 2025.

• BNB

With the woes of Binance being over and the craze of memecoins. Due to extremely low fees and high network speeds, Binance’s BNB Chain could become a top layer-1 blockchain.

Though the crypto is stuck below $600 for now, it may soon cross $1000 if an altcoin rally comes in the latter part of 2024 or early 2025.

• Dogecoin

Dogecoin might become one of the “black horses” of 2025 because of its quick reversal from a certain death situation. The crypto dipped below $0.1 for a short time in August 2024 but quickly recovered to the bull zone. 

According to experts, Dogecoin could show a bull rally of 25,000% in the latter part of 2024 and in 2025. This makes DOGE a perfect choice for HODL in 2025.