The cryptocurrency developer landscape remained largely unchanged in 2024, with new entrants offsetting departures of existing developers, according to Electric Capital’s latest report. While the total number of developers saw a statistically insignificant 7% decline year-over-year, the monthly active developer count reached 23,613 in November.
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Solana’s Ascent and Ethereum’s Dominance
Despite the overall stagnation, the Solana ecosystem, a hub for memecoin activity, witnessed remarkable growth, attracting 83% more new developers compared to the previous year. In July, Solana achieved a significant milestone, surpassing Ethereum in new developer onboarding for the first time since 2016. With 7,625 new developers in 2024, Solana outpaced all other chains, including Ethereum, by over 1,000. This surge in interest highlights the challenges faced by Ethereum as Solana’s lower fees and faster transaction speeds attract significant investment and talent.
According to Maria Shen, General Partner at Electric Capital, the retention of experienced developers, particularly those with over two years in the industry, increased in 2024. Departures were primarily concentrated among newer entrants who joined during the bear market. “These are people who effectively joined during the bear market, and haven’t really seen anything since then,” Shen explained in an interview with CoinDesk.
Shen emphasized the positive implications of developer population stability. “When we look at the sector of established developers, it’s growing and looking very healthy,” she noted. The segment of full-time developers experienced the smallest decline, around 4% year-over-year, further reinforcing the overall health of the developer community.
Ethereum’s Network Effect and Layer-2 Growth
While Solana’s momentum is undeniable, Ethereum maintains its dominance. “Ethereum absolutely dominates,” Shen affirmed, citing the platform’s profound network effects evident in the data. Despite a 17% decrease in monthly active developers to 6,244, Ethereum boasts the largest developer ecosystem globally, leading in every continent. Solana currently holds the second position.
A significant driver of Ethereum’s continued development is the proliferation of layer-2 networks. Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum have attracted substantial developer activity. Electric Capital’s findings reveal that over half (56%) of Ethereum developers are focused on layer-2 solutions.
EigenLayer’s Rapid Expansion
EigenLayer, a prominent restaking protocol on Ethereum, has spurred significant developer innovation. The report highlights EigenLayer as the fastest-growing developer ecosystem in 2024, exhibiting a 167% surge in monthly overall developers. The deployment of Actively Validated Services (AVS) within the EigenLayer ecosystem has significantly contributed to this growth.
Global Developer Distribution and Future Trends
The geographical distribution of crypto developers is becoming increasingly diversified. Asia has overtaken North America as the continent with the largest number of blockchain developers, relegating North America to third place. However, the U.S. retains its leading position among countries, accounting for 19% of the global developer share. Notably, India witnessed the highest influx of new crypto developers in 2024, capturing 17% of the new developer share, attributed to a surge in educational programs, hackathons, and a vibrant developer community.
Shen views this geographical diversification as a healthy trend. She believes that a globally distributed developer community is crucial for realizing the borderless vision of crypto and leveraging the vast engineering talent pool outside the U.S.
In conclusion, while overall developer growth plateaued in 2024, the underlying trends reveal a dynamic ecosystem with emerging contenders like Solana challenging established players and a global shift in developer distribution. The continued strength of experienced developers and the rise of layer-2 solutions suggest a resilient and evolving crypto landscape.
