BREAKDOWN: DeFi Degens Are Crypto’s Suicide Squad
A look at the subculture and ethos driving the white-hot DeFi space, which has grown from $2 billion to $9 billion in total value locked in just two months.
ABOUT
A look at the subculture and ethos driving the white-hot DeFi space, which has grown from $2 billion to $9 billion in total value locked in just two months.
This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.
Today on the Brief:
- Traditional markets falter, led by tech stocks
- Bitcoin falls under $11,000 for the first time since July
- Stablecoins mint $100 million daily since mid-July
Our main discussion is about DeFi’s “degens.” NLW talks about:
- The numbers behind DeFi’s recent run-up
- What “degen” means in this context
- Why degen is, in part, a reaction to previous bitcoiner critiques of Ethereum
- Why degen is (in even bigger part) a reaction to a no-yield, artificially low interest world
HOST
CoinDesk is the world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies.
We cover news and analysis on the trends, price movements, technologies, companies and people in the bitcoin and digital currency world.

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