Leveraged ‘Degen’ Traders Return to Prominence in Bitcoin Rally

Crypto’s retail gamblers are back. And as history shows, that may not be a good thing.

Bitcoin has surged around 20% so far this week, inching closer to its all-time high of almost $69,000 in November 2021. The rally is said to be driven by the demand from US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which topped $7 billion during the same period. However, the latest move is likely escalated by “degens” — crypto slang for degenerate gamblers, several market metrics show.

“On this leg higher in spot price, Binance perpetual swap funding rate has been higher than Deribit which indicates speculative retail ...