This started as a stereotypical frat-boy - a young, wannabe alpha male with huge ego that looks a little like Jonny Bravo (for boomers that remember him). In crypto culture it has evolved to become somewhat of a compliment and means somebody that displays courage to make difficult, almost heroic decisions. Most often used to describe males but is also gender neutral. There are plenty of female chads in crypto.

A tongue in cheek description for DeFi (Decentralized Finance) tokens that became insanely popular in DeFi summer 2020. The term was created in response to the SEC and other securities authority's passion for prosecuting projects that sell tokens as "shares" in a business without a traditional license to sell shares. To counteract any potential future prosecutions, project leaders often describe them specifically as worthless governance tokens. They usually carry some voting rights, hence the governance part, which provides a utility and reason for them to exist.