Propose an edit: Degen (coin)

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Title Category One sentence summary Infobox, one "key: value" per line Article body, markdown, use [[wiki links]] and end with a ## References section

Degen is a [[meme coin]] on Base, the Ethereum layer 2 incubated by Coinbase, and the native reward token of the degen channel on the Farcaster social protocol. Unlike most meme coins it acquired an organic use as a social tipping currency before it became a speculative asset.

## Origin

DEGEN launched in January 2024 as an ERC20 token airdropped to roughly 1,600 active users of the degen channel on Farcaster, a hub for speculative trading talk. Its tokenomics allocated about 70 percent of the 37 billion supply to community airdrops and incentives. The defining mechanic was the tip allowance: active Farcaster users received a daily virtual balance of DEGEN they could give away by replying to good posts, and recipients could claim what they had been tipped. When spam farming and tipping for tips emerged, the creator banned farmers, and the community norms that survived made tipping feel earned.

## Market history

The tipping economy pushed holders and price sharply upward through February 2024, and centralized exchange listings on BitMart, HTX, BingX, and Poloniex followed in March. After Coinbase placed DEGEN on its listing roadmap the token jumped over 125 percent and its market capitalization surpassed 160 million dollars, with the all time high of about 0.064 dollars reached at the end of March 2024. That month the team also launched Degen Chain, a layer 3 built on Base with Arbitrum Orbit technology using DEGEN as gas. The price later declined more than 90 percent from the peak, with capitalization in the tens of millions by 2026.

## Cultural impact

Degen was the emblem of the Farcaster and Base spring of 2024, when a social network briefly looked like the next meme coin distribution engine. It popularized the tipping meta that dozens of social tokens copied, put the word degen, the self deprecating identity badge of [[the trenches]], on a chart, and preceded Base native characters like [[Brett]]. Analysts still cite it as the rare meme coin whose first users were rewarded for posting rather than buying.

## References

- https://zerion.io/blog/the-true-history-of-degen/
- https://unchainedcrypto.com/degen-a-memecoin-on-coinbase-incubated-base-jumps-over-125-amid-upcoming-listing/
- https://blog.matcha.xyz/article/degen-token-on-farcaster
- https://coinmarketcap.com/cmc-ai/degen-base/what-is/
- https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/degen-base

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