Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people in the community calling themselves degens, and at first I was a bit confused. Later, I realized that the term is actually quite interesting in the crypto world.

To put it simply, a degen is someone who trades in very risky ways. The slang comes from “degenerate,” but in web3, many people instead treat it as a symbol of identity. They’re willing to take enormous risks in pursuit of higher profits, and sometimes that mindset is indeed admirable.

That said, if we’re being honest, the dangers of degen trading really shouldn’t be underestimated. Many people place big bets with high leverage, trying to profit quickly from market volatility. Assets like Bitcoin, which have extremely high volatility, are especially likely to attract this kind of trader. You might make a profit in a short time, but you might also lose everything in an instant. What’s more, degens usually focus only on short-term price movements and pay little attention to long-term fundamentals, which easily pulls them into an extremely volatile trading environment.

Interestingly, the term degen has two ways of being understood. Some people use it to poke fun at themselves, acknowledging that their trading strategies are highly speculative. Others use it as a warning, reminding everyone how dangerous this kind of behavior can be. Either way, many people who call themselves degens in the crypto community are actually quite loyal—they actively participate in projects, offer advice and criticism, and contribute to the community.

But there’s a dark side that needs to be made clear. In the DeFi space, there have been some scams carried out under the name of degen—such as pump-and-dump schemes. Someone buys a large amount of tokens to push up the price, attracting others to follow and buy in, and then suddenly sells off and disappears, leaving the people who bought later with nothing to show for their money. This distorted behavior harms legitimate projects and tarnishes the reputation of the entire community.

So when you look at the identity of a degen, you need to understand both the enthusiasm and adventurous spirit of these traders, and also be alert to the hidden risks and scams within it. In the crypto world, a degen can be either an enthusiast or a victim—the key is how you choose to participate.