In the context of the crypto community, “degen” is short for “degenerate” and is often used to refer to a person who is involved in high-risk, speculative trading or investing in cryptocurrencies. The term can be traced back to sports betting, where it was used to describe gamblers who place large sums of money without the necessary knowledge or expertise to support their bets.
Degen traders are known to engage in risky, speculative behavior without conducting proper research and due diligence, and they may make buying decisions based on superficial factors like an asset’s logo or a catchy slogan. In the ever-growing crypto space, traders have started to use the term to describe themselves, and some even wear the title of “DeFi Degen” as a badge of honor, indicating a willingness to take risks and embrace the industry.
Degens often focus their investment on meme tokens and joke projects, and the term is often associated with pump and dump price schemes.