According to the survey, the number of monthly active developers reached 23,613 in November, while the overall number of developers working in Crypto worldwide remained relatively stable, falling by a statistically negligible 7% from the previous year.
With an 83% increase in its environment compared to a year earlier, the Solana ecosystem—the epicentre of the memecoin craze—became the most popular blockchain among new developers. This community added more developers than Ethereum in July, the first time since 2016. In 2024, 7,625 new developers joined the Solana network, slightly more than 1,000 more than Ethereum’s total.
These findings highlight the difficulty Ethereum is having in competing with Solana, an innovative contract platform offering lower fees and faster transactions that attract investors and talent. A general partner at Electric Capital, Maria Shen, claims that in 2024, there was an increase in the percentage of developers with a Crypto background of two years or more. Relative newcomers made up the bulk of the departing workforce.
Those individuals joined during the bear market and haven’t seen much since then,” Shen told CoinDesk in an interview. Shen views the stability of the developer population as a positive sign. Looking at the industry of well-established developers, it appears to be thriving, she added. Looking at full-time developers reveals the most minimal declines—only about 4% year over year. I would say that the population is looking healthy generally, although it’s flat due to losses from new members less than a year and two years ago.
Ethereum Leads Developers Despite Solana’s Growth
Ethereum remains Solana’s chief rival, notwithstanding the former’s growth and the latter’s enormous influx of new Blockchain developer growth. Ethereum is by far the most popular,” Shen stated. According to the statistics, “Ethereum haprofoundep network effects.
According to Shen, Ethereum still boasts the largest developer community despite a 17% decline in monthly developers to 6,244. In terms of overall developers, Ethereum is king on every continent. Shen did say that Solana is presently in second place, though.
Many layer-2 networks have emerged, which has contributed to Ethereum’s growth. Many developers are working on the Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum chains. The layer-2s that sit above Ethereum are being developed by a little over half of the Ethereum developers, according to Electric Capital’s findings (56%).
Also, as protocols deployed their Actively Validated Services (AVS) across the ecosystem. Eigenlayer Ethereum’s primary staking protocol started a time of excellent developer innovation for its ecosystem. The report stated that in 2024, Eigenlayer had the fastest-growing Blockchain developer growth, with 167% more developers contributing each month.
Asia Leads in Blockchain Developer Growth
Asia surpassed North America as the continent with the most blockchain developers. At the same time, North America fell from first to third, further demonstrating. According to Electric Capital’s analysis, with the increasing globalization of the cryptocurrency industry, with a 19% share. The United States is still the leading country for developers. On the other hand, 17 %of the world’s new Crypto developers were based in India in 2024. Based on anecdotal evidence, Shen claims that India hosts many hackathons and education programs for developers.
Another positive tendency, according to Shen, is the geographical heterogeneity of developers. That North America and the United States maintain their supremacy is “not only implausible but, I would venture to say, somewhat undesirable she remarked. You want to see more global diversity in Crypto and be borderless, and I think there’s a lot of great engineering talent outside of the U.S.
Final Thoughts
As a whole, the blockchain development scene is changing to reflect the trend toward innovation and globalization. Propelled by cheaper fees and quicker transactions, Solana’s exponential expansion seriously threatens Ethereum’s hegemony. On the other hand, Ethereum will continue to be a development powerhouse thanks to its robust layer-2 ecosystems and network effects.
Innovation is moving away from traditional IT strongholds like North America, as seen by Asia’s emergence as the top location for blockchain talent, with notable contributions from India. This diversification makes the sector more resilient, driving it to innovate and include more people. The stability of experienced developers indicates the sector’s long-term health despite minor dips.
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