Degen

The word is a shortened form of "degenerate gambler" and is used in crypto with a mix of self-mockery and pride. A degen buys tokens minutes after launch, opens positions with 50x or 100x leverage, deposits into brand-new yield farms or bets on memecoins with no product, knowing that most such bets fail.

Degen behaviour is visible on chain: wallets that trade hundreds of new tokens a week, memecoin launchpads, Telegram trading bots and high-leverage perpetual futures platforms all cater to it. The term is also used as an adjective, as in "degen play" or "degen season", for periods when speculation on small, risky tokens dominates the market.

The strategy depends on a few large wins covering many losses, and many participants end up losing more than they gain. Rug pulls, honeypot tokens and liquidations are common outcomes, so degen trading is generally done only with money one can afford to lose entirely.