HODLers are likely to experience an array of different feelings and emotions throughout their crypto investing journeys including grief – approximately five unique stages of grief.
What is HODLing?
HODLing is the act of retaining one’s crypto investments safely in a wallet somewhere and refusing to sell no matter how bad (or good) things may get. There’s always this idea in the back of HODLers’ heads that somewhere down the line, the bulls will take over in extreme fashion, and the prices of bitcoin and its crypto-cousins will explode. The future will always bear positive results and selling could prevent them from experiencing those results.
However, with bitcoin trading well below $6,000 over the past few days, many HODLers are likely feeling the pain and agony that comes with severe price drops. In other words, they’re likely going through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Number One and Number Two
The first stage, denial, usually invokes thoughts that contradict the present market conditions. “Oh, I shouldn’t worry,” the HODLers may say to themselves. “What’s one drop in the market? Bitcoin will do better next week, or next month. It’s a small loss, but things will repair themselves in the end.” It’s all meant to justify hanging onto an asset that has seemingly failed them.
The second stage, anger, is alleged to be the most common amongst HODLers. “Why aren’t people understanding this currency?” they ask themselves. “Don’t they see how strong and revolutionary blockchain technology can be? Don’t people realize what they’re missing? Why is everyone so stupid and blind to what’s going on?” In other words, the world and how it functions is changing, yet no one sees this but the HODLer.
Three and Four
The third stage, bargaining, involves trying to work deals with outside parties. For example:
As soon as we hit $20,000 again, I will sell some of my coins off. Why won’t the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approve the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) already? Once that happens, I’ll take part in a sell-off. I promise.
Third is depression, in which the HODLers criticize themselves for “being so stupid.” They likely say, “What was I thinking getting into this? How could things have gotten any worse? What was going through my head to assume this was a good idea?” By the end of the day, they’re alone and crying in the bathroom with a bottle of beer in each hand.
The End
The final stage is acceptance. The HODLers acknowledge that the losses have happened and that they may have made some mistakes down the line, but certain aspects have worked in their favor. They know there could be another rally in the future, and there’s the possibility the technology will be widely accepted somewhere down the line. However, for now, they must deal with the present circumstances and understand that a few drops – though significant – come with the territory.
Have you gone through any of these phases through your investing journey? Post your comments below.
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