Short for "Degenerate" the name “degen” is a play on “degenerate gambler,” which implies a certain level of intimacy with the prospects of financial ruin. However, many who are classified as degens would instead describe themselves as traders. They can “experiment,” “speculate,” or “take a calculated risk”—all without losing sleep over any potential losses.
“Degens are traders willing to go above and beyond the normal risk appetite of trading a shitcoin by putting absurd amounts of capital on the line to farm, buy or trade brand new tokens with extreme degrees of risk and even higher returns,” Cooper Turley
Source:
https://decrypt.co/52739/decrypts-people-of-the-year-the-defi-degens