When the price of Bitcoin rallied 33% in April, some cryptocurrency investors decided it was time to get out, rather than hang on in hopes of a continued surge. It has been more than six months since Bitcoin peaked at roughly $20,000 in December, and the subsequent 70% crash and sustained bear market in cryptocurrencies has tested the patience of investors—particularly those who bought in amid the frenzied exuberance late last year.
Crypto enthusiasts have long urged each other during market selloffs to “hodl”—a onetime typo for “hold” that has since been embraced as an acronym for “hold on for dear life”—but new data suggest their faith in the principle is waning.