As someone who studied econ, I feel like I should take offense ;D

Degenerate, in slang more commonly degen, is more or less a term for a low-life or morally repugnant behavior. It seems to have been picked up by the stock market gambling community (which is kinda funny in this context, didn’t know that), but I recall it being a thing over a decade ago in the circles that community is enmeshed with, such as 4chan. Was used to denounce gays, masturbation, that kind of thing.