Have you ever wondered how most crypto millionaires you might probably know made so much money trading crypto in a short amount of time?

Well, the secret is Degen trading. According to a recent survey, over 30% of crypto traders identify as "degens," and they prefer to prioritise potential gains over calculated trades.

You might be wondering what Degen trading is and how it works. Not to worry, I will be explaining all you need to know about this type of trading and how to be a profitable degen trader.

What is Degen trading & how does it work?

Before explaining what Degen trading is, let's talk about Degens.

Degens are risk-tolerant individuals who buy into the latest shitcoins or memecoins early enough to cash out big when their prices start mooning.

Degens is short for Degenerates, and they are popular in the Defi (decentralised finance) space. The name ‘degen’ is short for ‘degenerate.’ This word was an unpleasant term given to individuals in the early 90’s who were known for gambling all their assets, especially those they couldn’t afford to lose.

Today, this word has become famous and taken a new meaning in the crypto space. Individuals involved in degen trading call themselves ‘crypto degens.’

Crypto degens have one goal in mind, which is to make 10 to 1000 times their investment in the shortest time possible. So they buy into any memecoin or shitcoin, which has the potential to surge in price upon launch or when it goes viral.

This type of trading is a sub-niche of Defi trading and is quite popular amongst crypto enthusiasts or communities.
These individuals gravitate towards new crypto projects (which usually have no use case or goal), meme coins, and yield farming opportunities with the potential to generate high returns.

They buy these tokens in large amounts to pump the price, and once the coin starts gaining attention with more buyers swimming in to buy the coin, they immediately dump the coin and make away with the profits.

How it Works
DeFi Degens leverage various DeFi tools to maximise gains. Here are a few standard tactics:

Yield Farming:
DeFi allows users to lend or stake their crypto holdings in exchange for rewards.

Degens chase the highest yields by rapidly jumping between different DeFi protocols while disregarding whether the project is legit.

Liquidity Hunting:
DeFi relies on liquidity pools to facilitate trading.

Degens identify new DeFi projects with potentially inflated token prices and become early liquidity providers.

They earn fees on trades within the pool but risk significant losses if the project falters.

To simplify this, look at a realistic example of degens investing and trading.

Tobi decides to double his crypto holdings and make 20x gains in 3 months. He then scans through Discord & telegram for new coins with the potential to quadruple in value upon launch to invest in.

He finds some new hotshot coins in the discord communities he is part of. These new crypto projects promise to offer a juicy 50x returns upon launch.

Tobi quickly buys into the project without doing his due diligence or reading the project's white paper. He invests $500 ($100 each) across 5 of the projects.

Throughout the day, Tobi keeps an eye on more DeFi-focused Discord servers. He finds more tokens to invest in while ignoring their whitepaper, which has sparse details.

Despite the red flags, the potential rewards are too much to ignore. He continues to allocate a small portion of his portfolio to become a holder of the tokens.

By investing a minimum of $100 each in these projects, upon their launch, some do well, surging to 20x their value, while others fall to $0. In total, Tobi makes a total of $10,000. He also counts his losses, pulls out from the trade with his earnings, and repeats the cycle.

Reality Check
While this might sound like an exciting cycle, it is very risky. Degens love to pride themselves as risk-takers (sometimes reckless). This thereby makes this form of crypto trading not suitable for the faint of heart.

Degens often deal with projects with limited track records and potentially flawed functionalities. Investing in such projects is a gamble, and losses can be substantial.

Sometimes, they are susceptible to rug pulls due to their focus on unvetted projects.

Rapid price fluctuations in the DeFi space can lead to impermanent loss for liquidity providers.

Degens chasing high yields may find their initial investment worth less when withdrawing from a pool.

Note: Degen trading often involves trading less established projects.
Most of these projects might not be available on significant CEXs (centralised exchanges) and may only be traded on DEXs (decentralised exchanges).

However, resources like CoinMarketCap Markets Section (which allows traders to search for a specific coin and see a list of DEXs where it's traded) & CoinGecko (which provides information on DEXs that support various cryptocurrencies) help traders find potential degen coins and DeFi projects to trade.

How to be a profitable degen trader

DeFi Degen trading is very risky, and it is advisable that you only invest what you can afford to lose and prioritise thorough research over pure FOMO.

If you want to be a degen trader, here are some steps to being profitable at it.

Find Your Degen Den: Immerse yourself in the degen community by joining Discord or Telegram groups like Larva Labs, cryptohub, etc. Follow crypto influencers (with a critical eye!), and stay updated on the latest degen trends. (Note: Be wary of shilling and scams rampant in these spaces).

Sharpen Your Skills: Don't just throw money at random projects. Learn about technical analysis (TA) to identify potential price movements and fundamental analysis (FA) to understand project goals and potential.

Be Critical: Degen trading requires constant monitoring. Be prepared to react quickly to news, market shifts, and community hype.

Risk Management is Key: Only invest in what you can afford to lose. Degens often use small allocations for high-risk projects—Utilise stop-loss orders to minimise potential losses.

Where to Find Degens:
Discord Servers: Look for servers dedicated to specific DeFi projects, meme coins, or general degen discussions. Research the server's reputation before diving in.

X(Twitter): Crypto Twitter is a hotbed of degen activity. Follow crypto influencers and hashtags like #DeFi, #YieldFarming, and #MemeCoins.

Telegram Groups: Like Discord, Telegram groups are excellent hubs for degen chatter. However, it is important to search these groups cautiously as scams and shilling are prevalent.

Conclusion
DeFi Degen trading is not for the faint of heart.

It requires a deep understanding of DeFi protocols, a high tolerance for volatility, and the ability to manage risk effectively.

However, it offers the potential for life-changing rewards. But remember, great rewards come with great responsibility (and potential losses).

Degen trading can be a thrilling and profitable way to make so much money in the crypto space. Nevertheless, it's crucial to manage risk effectively while conducting thorough research.

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