{"id":2497,"date":"2024-07-23T12:49:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T12:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/?p=2497"},"modified":"2025-01-16T08:51:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T08:51:30","slug":"degen-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Degen Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_56_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#What_is_a_Degen_meaning_in_web3\" title=\"What is a Degen meaning in web3?\">What is a Degen meaning in web3?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#Origins_of_the_term_%E2%80%98degen\" title=\"Origins of the term \u2018degen\u2019\">Origins of the term \u2018degen\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#How_do_you_identify_as_a_Degen\" title=\"How do you identify as a Degen?\">How do you identify as a Degen?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#1_Rarely_DYOR\" title=\"1. Rarely DYOR&nbsp;\">1. Rarely DYOR&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#2_Dull_portfolio\" title=\"2. Dull portfolio\">2. Dull portfolio<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#3_FOMO_and_overtrading\" title=\"3. FOMO and overtrading\">3. FOMO and overtrading<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#Should_you_be_a_degen\" title=\"Should you be a degen?\">Should you be a degen?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#FAQs\" title=\"FAQs\">FAQs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#What_Does_The_Term_%E2%80%9CDeFi_Degen%E2%80%9D_Mean_In_Crypto\" title=\"What Does The Term &#8220;DeFi Degen&#8221; Mean In Crypto?\">What Does The Term &#8220;DeFi Degen&#8221; Mean In Crypto?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#What_is_DeFi_Degen\" title=\"What is DeFi Degen?\">What is DeFi Degen?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#What_is_Degen_behavior\" title=\"What is Degen behavior?\">What is Degen behavior?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/degen-meaning\/#What_is_Degen_in_web3\" title=\"What is Degen in web3?\">What is Degen in web3?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>Degen is a crypto slang term derived from the word &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/degenerate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">degenerate<\/a>&#8220;; it is used as a meme in a funny manner in the <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/blockchains?ref=Article&amp;utm_source=Blog_Organic\">cryptocurrency<\/a> space. Degen meaning or slag refers to individual crypto traders who frequently engage in highly risky and speculative trading strategies in crypto. Degen traders are ready to take extreme risks while chasing exponentially high returns. Such strategies may work during a crypto <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/bull-market-definition\/\">bull market<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Key Takeaway<\/strong>: \u2018Degen\u2019 is a web3 slang derived from the english word \u2018degenerate\u2019, it is used in the crypto space to refer to traders who engage in highly speculative and risky trading.<\/p><cite>Crypto.com<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-nv-text-dark-bg-color has-nv-dark-bg-background-color has-text-color has-background\">Example sentence: Being a degen is a risky way of life \ud83e\udee1<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-a-degen-meaning-in-web3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_Degen_meaning_in_web3\"><\/span>What is a Degen meaning in web3?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/defi-meaning\/\">decentralized finance (DeFi)<\/a>, a degen does not have a practical end goal. They are mostly after more and more capital.\u00a0What makes a degen different from the other class of crypto investors is that they make rash investment decisions, buy into Ponzi schemes, can be quite greedy at times, and are targetted by FOMO every now and then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to quench their thirst for more, Degen end up making the riskiest of the deals, seeking out the highest yields, and even going on to the extent of using \u2018pump-and-dump\u2019 schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This term gained popularity as the hype around crypto and NFTs went up. Increasingly, as the crypto industry expands, it attracts more people seeing crypto as a shortcut to getting rich overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are some examples of Degen making returns and of loosing their investments:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-1024x473.webp\" alt=\"Ghozali Everyday NFT | Degen Meaning\" class=\"wp-image-7692\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-1024x473.webp 1024w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-300x139.webp 300w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-150x69.webp 150w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-768x355.webp 768w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-1536x710.webp 1536w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2-1320x610.webp 1320w, https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Ghozali-2.webp 1822w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Indonesian student\u2019s selfie NFT collection \u2018Ghozali Everyday\u2019 sells for nearly USD 1 million<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ghozali Ghozalu, a 22-year student minted his selfies of four straight years as <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/courses\/how-to-write-a-smart-contract-and-mint-elon-musk-nft-on-opensea?ref=Articles&amp;utm_source=Blog_Organic\">NFTs on Opensea<\/a>. Since it was an unusual thing for NFT degens, they jumped and started investing, resulting in Ghozali earning around 1.1 million dollars. So, degens made him rich in just a matter of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another degen example can be found in famous YouTuber Logan Paul who jumped on a trend without much knowledge and bought an NFT for $623k. That NFT is now worth only $10. He later admitted his mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>A year ago, I spent $623,000 on an NFT. Today, it\u2019s worth essentially nothing. I\u2019ve immortalized this mistake in 99 Originals with an exact replica helmet &amp; outfit.<\/p><cite>Logan Paul<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Both examples are perfect representations of degen meaning. They take a high-value risk that can go both ways. Either you can make a lot of money or lose a lot of money hence it is always better to <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/dyor-meaning\/\">DYOR<\/a> before investing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"origins-of-the-term-degen\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Origins_of_the_term_%E2%80%98degen\"><\/span>Origins of the term \u2018degen\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But how did the term become popular? Mostly used in a lighthearted banter for self-deprecating humor the term was first coined as slang in the betting industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gamblers who lacked the experience and knowledge ended up risking all their chips and hard-earned money in betting and gambling. They are referred to as Degens and are looked down upon by the experienced gamblers. They take irrational risks to earn more returns but rarely succeed. But conversely in crypto industry, the crypto traders wear it on their sleeves as a badge of honor and pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is perhaps because when crypto came off as the big new thing in the market, people were a little apprehensive about it. But those who truly did believe in it, had the guts to try something new thus they invested big chunks of their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, there are crypto communities that have been shaped by the very term and they seem to be quite happy with it.\u00a0In simpler terms, a DeFi degen in crypto is someone who without properly <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/dyor-meaning\/\">doing your own research (DYOR)<\/a> identifies a classy project such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club and invests in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-do-you-identify-as-a-degen\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_identify_as_a_Degen\"><\/span>How do you identify as a Degen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Degen in crypto are also referred to as believers who believe that their investment will yield great returns. They share some resemblance with a particular class of investors known as bulls who generally have a positive attitude toward the overall coin prices, and are full of self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, how do you recognize a degen? Some of the pointers have already been mentioned but don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll reiterate them. Following are the characteristics of Degen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-rarely-dyor\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Rarely_DYOR\"><\/span>1. <strong>Rarely DYOR&nbsp;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Do your own research (DYOR) is a concept mostly alien to degens in crypto. A decentralized market happens to be more volatile than a centralized one and investing in projects without prior research and study is like digging your own grave.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, by the behavior, the existing knowledge, and the way of making decisions, you can tell whether a person is a degen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-dull-portfolio\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Dull_portfolio\"><\/span>2. <strong>Dull portfolio<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A portfolio is the most important and significant thing that an investor owns. There is little difference between investors in DeFi and centralized finance. A lot can be inferred about an investor just by looking at their portfolio.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if the portfolio is not diverse as if the investor has invested all the money in just a single currency, it may have an impact on the investor\u2019s overall credibility and reputation. Thus, this is another way to recognize a crypto DeFi degen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-fomo-and-overtrading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_FOMO_and_overtrading\"><\/span>3. FOMO and overtrading<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, degens always have a fear of missing out. This leads to them making impulsive decisions and uncalculated judgments. Degens can also go on to the extent of taking out hefty amounts as loans and investing them in a cryptocurrency.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, they are very much into buying and selling cryptocurrencies within short spans of time primarily because of the thrill they get in doing so. If you notice such behavior and find it odd, don\u2019t worry, it is just a degen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"should-you-be-a-degen\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_you_be_a_degen\"><\/span>Should you be a degen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hmm. Now that is an interesting question. While it totally depends on the taste, patience level, work ethic, and end goal of an investor, here are some quotes by some <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/category\/profiles\/\">crypto founders<\/a> that can help you decide whether you should be a degen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;The best way to make money in crypto is to do the opposite of what degens do.&#8221; <\/p><p><\/p><cite>&#8211; Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;In crypto, there are many ways to make money, but there are even more ways to lose it. Don&#8217;t be a degen.&#8221; <\/p><p><\/p><cite>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/changpeng-zhao-binance-profile\/\">Changpeng Zhao<\/a>, CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/blockchains\/binance\">Binance<\/a>.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>So, degen or no degen? That\u2019s up to you, <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/fren-meaning\/\">fren<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faqs\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span>FAQs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-66a0af1ec4644\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Does_The_Term_%E2%80%9CDeFi_Degen%E2%80%9D_Mean_In_Crypto\"><\/span>What Does The Term &#8220;DeFi Degen&#8221; Mean In Crypto?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/defi-meaning\/\">DeFi (decentralized finance)<\/a> degens are a specific kind of crypto investor who is quite a bit into risky projects. In difficult projects, they are specifically interested in investing in meme coins like <a href=\"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/rekt-crypto-meaning\/\">$REKT<\/a> and joke projects. They are also associated with pump and dump schemes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-66a0af1ec464b\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_DeFi_Degen\"><\/span>What is DeFi Degen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>A DeFi degen can be characterized as someone really into liquidity mining and yield farming on the decentralized exchange. They are always on the lookout for a get-rich-quick money-making scheme and can make impulsive and reckless decisions and investments. They are also risky enough to bet on unauthorized and unofficial projects.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-66a0af1ec4651\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Degen_behavior\"><\/span>What is Degen behavior?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Crypto traders who engage in high speculative and risky traders, risking large mount of crypto tokens on trades without proper research in the hope of making extraordinary returns.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-66a0af1ec4659\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Degen_in_web3\"><\/span>What is Degen in web3?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Degen is a slang in web3 used to define traders who engage in speculative and risky trading.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[66,74,68],"class_list":["post-2497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web3-crypto-glossary","tag-crypto-slang-terms","tag-web3-glossary","tag-web3-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2497"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7696,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497\/revisions\/7696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaschool.so\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}