When you hear the word degen, you might think of someone taking wild risks-betting everything on a hunch, chasing moonshots, or doubling down on a coin that makes no sense. That’s exactly what Degen (DEGEN) is: a cryptocurrency built for the degens. It’s not a project with a whitepaper full of blockchain innovation. It doesn’t solve global supply chains or revolutionize payments. Instead, DEGEN is a meme coin born from community culture, built on Coinbase’s Base blockchain, and fueled by social interaction on Farcaster.
What exactly is DEGEN?
DEGEN is a token that lives on the Base blockchain, which is a Layer 2 scaling solution built on Ethereum. Base was created by Coinbase to make crypto faster and cheaper, especially for apps that need lots of small transactions-like social platforms, games, and tipping systems. DEGEN was launched in early 2023 as a way to reward users on Farcaster, a decentralized social network that’s like Twitter but without a central company in control. If you post, comment, or engage on Farcaster, you can get tipped in DEGEN. That’s it. No mining. No staking. No utility beyond being a digital handshake between users.
Think of it like a digital handshake that has value. You don’t need to own DEGEN to use Farcaster. But if you do, you can send it to others as a thank-you, a clap, or even a joke. That’s why it caught on. It’s not meant to be money. It’s meant to be fun.
How did DEGEN get so big?
DEGEN didn’t grow because of a team of engineers or a VC-backed roadmap. It exploded because of community. In 2024, the team behind DEGEN launched a massive airdrop-giving away tokens to early Farcaster users. Over 2 million people got DEGEN for free. That’s when the real chaos started. People started trading it. People started speculating. People started buying it because their friends had it. And because it was easy to get, easy to send, and easy to talk about, it became one of the most traded tokens on Base.
At its peak in late 2024, DEGEN hit $0.0520. That meant a single token was worth more than a dollar in some early wallets. But hype doesn’t last. By October 2025, the price had crashed to around $0.0029. That’s a 94% drop from its all-time high. And yet, people still hold it. Why? Because it’s still the heartbeat of Farcaster. You can’t talk about decentralized social media without mentioning DEGEN.
Tokenomics: Burn, Buyback, and the Fight for Survival
DEGEN’s supply is wild. There are over 36 billion tokens that can ever exist. Right now, about 2.8 billion are in circulation. That means over 90% of the total supply is still sitting idle-likely in wallets of early airdrop recipients who never sold, or in team wallets waiting to be released.
In July 2025, the team announced major changes to try and save the token’s value. They proposed burning 400 million to 2 billion DEGEN tokens-roughly 10% to 50% of the airdropped supply. That’s a huge reduction. Burning means destroying tokens permanently. Less supply? That’s the classic theory behind price recovery.
They also plan to use revenue from the project to buy back DEGEN on the open market and burn it. Imagine a company buying its own shares to boost the stock price. That’s what they’re trying here. And by October 2025, they’re planning to stop giving out liquidity incentives-meaning fewer people will be paid to trade DEGEN on exchanges. That’s meant to reduce manipulation and make the price more real.
Monthly burns could remove up to 9.3% of the circulating supply. If even half of that happens, the token supply could drop by over 1 billion tokens in a year. That’s not a small number. But will it work? History says maybe not. Many meme coins burn tokens and still crash. DEGEN’s fate depends on whether the community still cares enough to use it-and buy it-after the hype fades.
Current Price and Market Sentiment
As of October 2025, DEGEN trades between $0.0028 and $0.0030. Its market cap sits at around $104 million. That’s tiny compared to Bitcoin or Ethereum, but huge for a meme coin with no real product beyond social tipping.
Technical indicators are mixed. The 50-day moving average is $0.003354. The 200-day is $0.003801. Both are above the current price, which means the trend is still down. The RSI (Relative Strength Index) is at 39-close to oversold territory. That means some traders think it’s cheap and might bounce. Others see it as just continuing its fall.
Price predictions vary wildly. WalletInvestor says DEGEN could drop to $0.0013 by 2026. TradingBeast says it might hit $0.0017. But PricePrediction.net thinks it could climb to $0.0038. And one outlier forecast says it might hit $0.0387-over 1,000% higher. None of these are guarantees. Most analysts agree: DEGEN is a high-risk, high-volatility asset. It’s not a long-term investment. It’s a gamble.
How DEGEN Compares to Other Meme Coins
DEGEN isn’t alone. On Base, there’s Brett (BRETT), Mog Coin (MOG), and Aerodrome Finance (AERO). All of them are meme coins with community-driven use cases. But DEGEN is different because it’s tied to a real platform-Farcaster-with real users. BRETT is a dog-themed coin. MOG is a meme with a cat. DEGEN? It’s the currency of a social network with over 1.5 million active users.
That gives it a tiny edge. While other meme coins die when the hype dies, DEGEN still has a functional use: tipping. People still send it. People still earn it. That’s not nothing.
But here’s the problem: most people who got DEGEN during the airdrop never used it. They just held it, hoping it would go up. And when it didn’t, they sold. That’s why the price keeps dropping. The community is active, but not big enough to support a rising price without constant new buyers.
Should You Buy DEGEN?
If you’re asking this, you’re probably not a degens. Degens don’t ask. They just buy.
Here’s the truth: DEGEN is not for investors. It’s for participants. If you’re on Farcaster and you like the vibe, getting some DEGEN to tip people makes sense. It’s like buying a bar tab at a party you want to be part of.
If you’re looking to make money? You’re likely to lose. The token has lost 80% of its value against Bitcoin. It’s down 61% against the US dollar in a year. Analysts don’t expect a rebound anytime soon. Even the most optimistic forecasts only see it hitting $0.004 by 2027-still far below its peak.
There’s no fundamental reason for DEGEN to rise. No product. No revenue. No adoption outside a niche social network. What it has is history, community, and a burning mechanism that might help-but only if people keep using it.
Where to Get DEGEN
You can buy DEGEN on major decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and SushiSwap. It’s also listed on centralized exchanges like Coinbase and KuCoin. But if you’re on Base, the easiest way is to get it directly through Farcaster. Some users earn it by posting. Others get it by inviting friends. It’s free if you’re active.
Wallets that support Base-like MetaMask, Rabby, or Coinbase Wallet-can hold DEGEN. Just make sure you’re on the Base network, not Ethereum or Polygon. Sending it to the wrong chain could mean losing it forever.
What’s Next for DEGEN?
The next six months will decide DEGEN’s fate. If the token burns go through and the community stays engaged, it might stabilize. If not, it could fade into another forgotten meme coin.
One thing is clear: DEGEN didn’t need to be valuable to survive. It just needed to be meaningful. And for now, on Farcaster, it still is.
Is Degen (DEGEN) a good investment?
DEGEN is not a good investment in the traditional sense. It has no revenue, no product, and no clear path to long-term value. Its price is driven by speculation and community hype. While some traders profit from short-term swings, most long-term holders have lost money. If you’re looking for stability or growth, avoid DEGEN. If you want to participate in a fun, decentralized social experiment, it’s worth a small amount-not more than you can afford to lose.
Can DEGEN reach $0.01 again?
It’s extremely unlikely. DEGEN traded at $0.0520 at its peak. To hit $0.01, it would need to rise over 300% from current levels. That would require massive new buying pressure, a major upgrade to Farcaster, or a huge surge in adoption. None of those are on the horizon. The token’s supply is huge, and the market sentiment remains bearish. Even optimistic forecasts don’t predict $0.01 until 2028 or later-if ever.
Why is DEGEN on Base blockchain?
Base is Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain, designed for fast, low-cost transactions. DEGEN was built on Base because it needed a network that could handle thousands of small tipping transactions without expensive gas fees. Ethereum’s main network is too slow and costly for that. Base made it possible for Farcaster users to tip each other in real time, which is exactly what DEGEN was created for.
How do I get DEGEN for free?
The easiest way is to join Farcaster. Early users received DEGEN through airdrops. Even now, you can earn small amounts by posting, commenting, or inviting others. Some Farcaster apps also reward users with DEGEN for completing tasks. You don’t need to buy it-you just need to be active on the platform.
Is DEGEN safe to use?
DEGEN itself is safe-it’s a standard ERC-20 token on Base, and its smart contracts have been audited. But like all meme coins, it’s risky. The price can crash overnight. Exchanges may delist it. Wallets may not support it. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. And always double-check the network (Base) when sending or receiving DEGEN to avoid losing funds.
