Whoever is a Game of Thrones fan, is no doubt familiar with the bulky and enigmatic character of Hodor who throughout the show’s seasons carries Bran on his back while uttering only a single word: ‘HODL’.

The first time you see “HODL” when someone is discussing cryptocurrencies, the word causes you to stop reading. You think: “Is it a misspelling?” Well, yes it is – at least it was mistyped originally. Now, rather amusingly, HODL has spawned a life of its own. It has evolved to represent a long-term trading strategy and philosophy for crypto investors.

A word which has sparked many memes and which according to eToro’s latest global campaign is a gross misappropriation. HODL which for many people has become shorthand for ‘hold-the-door’ refers for cryptocurrency fans and other people in the know to quite something else: the act of holding on to your cryptocurrency rather than selling it.

More than a Meme: HODL as a Strategy

The memes helped lift HODL from a mistyped “hold” to a widely adopted slang term and trading strategy used in the cryptocurrency community. Quartz heralded it as one of the most important terms in crypto culture in 2017, describing it as a determination to “stay invested in bitcoin and not to capitulate in the face of plunging prices”.

So in an attempt to familiarize people with the world of finances, cryptocurrency and online social trading, BBR Saatchi & Saatchi and eToro are taking a page out of some of the world’s most iconic shows.

A feverish attempt by Kristian Nairn to break out of character and reposition himself as a serious actor

What is HODL? Explained by Kristian Nairn

Credits:
Agency Credits: BBR Saatchi & Saatchi
Campaign: HODL (hold on for dear life)
Chairman & C.E.O: Yossi Lubaton
C.E.O: Ben Muskal
CCO: Idan Regev
COO: Dorit Gvili
Creative Director: Naor Itzhak
Copywriter: Omri Tzidon
Art Director: Shani Sofer & Anahi Raveh
Digital Producer: Tali Sasson
VP Client Services: Noa Sharf
Account Supervisor: Shirley Konka
Account Executive: Nitzan Cohen Fingerov
Account Executive: Mor Lewit
VP Strategic Planning: Yossi (Joe) Baruch
Strategic Planning Supervisor: Lora Goichman
Media Planner: Ronit Shekel
Planning Information Specialist: Eva Hasson
Director: Rani Carmeli
Producer: Ariel Pridan

Client eToro:
eToro Founder & CEO: Yoni Assia
Marketing Operations Director: Avital Sobol
Copywriter: Shlomi Dubish
Art Director: Mor Barkai

This article is about:
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Keeping this in mind, many digital and tech companies of the world have taken the decision to ban ads promoting cryptocurrency, which includes issues, including but not limited to, binary options, initial coin offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency wallets, and token sales. Many governments and their agencies are already trying to come up with ways to control and monitor the extremely unstable digital currency market and top companies banning such ads is a move which makes the former’s quest stronger.

Companies like Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba already followed a policy of limiting ads on cryptocurrency related content. However, this move caught momentum and gained attention when social media giant, Facebook, decided to ban such ads around February 2018. Facebook clearly stated that protecting its public from misleading advertisements is a part of their core value because they want ads to be safe.

Following suit, Google was the next in line to ban such ads. Google had already stated that it removed around 3.2 billion harmful ads from its network in 2017 and the cryptocurrency ban would take their quest further. In June this year, Google plans to implement this decision and take this ban further to the AdWords sphere. Twitter has followed suit and announced two days ago that it will impose a ban on cryptocurrency and related ads as well.

However, two major sites namely, Microsoft-owned search platform Bing and Snapchat have not yet imposed or released any notification about any such restriction on cryptocurrency ads. It can also be noted that though Facebook has imposed on a ban on cryptocurrency products and services, it does not restrict and still shows ads related to the industry such as an ad for a cryptocurrency marketing platform.

Such a strong decision by these companies is indicative of the fact that people are taking cyber security and safety seriously in this age of digital advancement. On the other hand, it is a huge setback for the online currency market as they have easily lost 70 percent of the digital ad market of the world. It will be interesting to see how these strict rules are implemented and what counter strategy is adopted by the affected firms and companies.

This article is related to:
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Cardano, Cryptocurrency, cyber security, Digital Wallet, Technology, Blockchain, Facebook, ebook, Twitter, Finance, Cryptocurrency wallets, Initial Coin Offerings, Baidu, Alibaba, Amazon, Google, Cryptocurrency Ads