Bitcoin’s success relies on it being used, not HODL’d

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The HODL strategy is a long-term investment approach that involves holding onto Bitcoin for an extended period of time rather than selling it. The term “HODL” is a play on the word “hold” and was coined by a drunken Bitcoiner who misspelled “hold” as “hodl” in a forum post titled “I AM HODLING.” Advocates of the HODL strategy—HODLERs—argue that Bitcoin has the potential to significantly increase in value over time and that holding onto it for the long term is the best way to maximize returns.

BSVSearch.com conducted a poll on Twitter asking people what stops them from using and spending BSVs. Of the participants, 35% said they are waiting for the exchange rate of BSV to reach a more favorable level before spending, while 45% said there are not enough merchants and businesses accepting BSVs. Entrepreneurs, business owners, retailers, wholesalers, and developers are therefore encouraged to accept BSVs in exchange for goods and services to allow BSV users around the world to do business with them. The remaining 20% of poll participants said they just want to HODL their BSVs.

In this article, we will explore the idea of HODLing and argue why it is important for everyone, especially HODLERs, to use BSVs in order to help the BSV economy grow and increase the value of their BSVs.

The HODL strategy assumes that the value of Bitcoin will increase over time. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen. As we have learned in a previous article, if the demand for Bitcoin does not increase, the price could go down.

There is renewed hope for Bitcoin with the restoration of its original protocol on BitcoinSV (BSV). This was made possible by the persistent insistence of Craig Wright, who claimed that the original protocol had everything needed for Bitcoin to be used as a global cash system. As it turns out, Wright, who is known to be the inventor of Bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, was right. BSV can now process 100,000 transactions per second with low fees anywhere in the world instantly. The low fees also allow for small transactions under $5 to be made with minimal transaction costs. Many people in developing countries, where average daily earnings and transactions are less than $5, have never had access to an electronic payment system. With BSV, they can now enjoy the privilege of digital money that people in more developed countries have had for decades.

Many of us understand the potential impact that Bitcoin can have on the world due to its ability to reduce transaction costs and facilitate the efficient transfer of value and data across the globe at the speed of the Internet. That’s why many of us have been earning satoshis or buying BSV. It’s an investment in our future that rewards us for recognizing the potential of BSV to transform the world. However, this transformation won’t happen if we, as individuals, do not participate in the BSV economy and only HODL. It’s important to remember that regardless of how many satoshis or BSV you have, none of them will be worth anything if BSV fails to be adopted and used globally.

We cannot simply stand by and watch Craig Wright fight the enemies of the real Bitcoin in costly, time-consuming, and emotional court cases. We cannot continue to be passive spectators while Calvin Ayre, nChain, and the Bitcoin Association work to educate businesses and governments on how Bitcoin can help them reduce costs and become more productive and efficient. We cannot simply hope that some team in the near future will create a “killer app” or the next “unicorn” to catalyze the massive migration towards using BSV.

If you want the value of the BSVs you hold to rise in the future, understand that this can only happen if the BSV economy grows. It only grows if everyday people like you and I contribute to this economy by actually using, spending, and receiving BSVs. The best way to do this is to buy BSVs and spend it on things you usually would have paid for in fiat. So instead of paying fiat currency directly for a product or a service, you buy BSVs and use that BSV to pay for that product or service. You are not worse off, but you have now injected value into the BSV economy. Little transactions like this, multiplied by many individuals around the world, will lead to sustained growth that creates an environment where massive surges of BSV adoption can happen. The impact of millions of transactions—no matter how small—will eventually add to a gargantuan expansion of the BSV global economy. It all begins with you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marquez Comelab has launched BSVSearch.com, an exciting initiative that connects businesses accepting BSVs with consumers around the world. It’s a place where individuals and businesses can also sell goods and services priced in BSVs, expanding the choices for BSV shoppers and driving growth for the BSV economy.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention presentation, Domineum: Better Government & Enterprise Applications with BSV