Holding will surely become fruitful in the long run as long as the project development continues and the team is actively attract more users for their platform, just like Bitcoin that it takes a couple years before it gets the thousand value.
Then why would you hold a coin that can potentially become a shitcoin in the long run? I will never understand people who buy altcoins to hold and then compare them to bitcoin because they are hoping that those altcoins will be as good to hold as BTC. Just buy bitcoin if it is a long term growth that you're hoping for!
I agree with OP that it's important to know what you're holding but even more important is not to hold for too long because many altcoins will die this year.