Solana is the public blockchain that has attracted the most new developers this year; More than half of Ethereum developers are researching layer 2 networks

According to a report by Electric Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in memory blockchain, the number of developers in the global cryptocurrency field has slightly decreased by 7% in 2024, but the proportion of experienced developers has increased. Meanwhile, the Solana blockchain ecosystem is the most popular among new developers, with an 83% increase in the number of Solana developers compared to a year ago. However, the Ethereum ecosystem still maintains a leading position in total.

The total number of encryption developers has decreased, but the proportion of senior developers has increased

According to a report released by Electric Capital on Thursday, the total number of cryptocurrency developers will remain relatively stable in 2024, although some recently joined developers have left the industry, but most senior developers choose to stay.

The report points out that the number of monthly active cryptocurrency developers worldwide decreased slightly by 7% from 25419 in November last year to 23613 last month. Among them, the proportion of senior developers has increased, and the number of developers who have been working in cryptocurrency for more than 2 years has grown by 27%, with 70% of code submissions coming from these developers. Among those who leave the industry, the majority are relatively new developers.

The stable number of developers is a positive signal, "said Maria Shen, a partner at Electric Capital, in an interview with CoinDesk

We observe the experienced developer community and find that their numbers are growing, and the growth seems very healthy. When we observe full-time developers... the decrease is the smallest, very small, with a year-on-year decline of only 4%

Solana developers grow strongly, Ethereum still dominates

At the same time, the Solana blockchain ecosystem is the most popular among new developers, with an 83% increase in the number of Solana ecosystem developers compared to a year ago. In July of this year, Solana became the first community since 2016 to have more new developers than Ethereum. Solana attracted 7625 new developers in 2024, about 1169 more than Ethereum.

This result highlights the challenges faced by Ethereum, as the low transaction fees and faster transaction speeds of smart contract platform competitors such as Solana are attracting investment and talent.

Nevertheless, the Ethereum ecosystem still maintains a leading position in terms of total numbers. Shen Ethereum is absolutely dominant, with a very deep network effect that can be seen through data

The number of monthly active developers on Ethereum has decreased by 17% in the past year, to 6244, but Shen stated that the blockchain still has the largest developer ecosystem so far.

Ethereum dominates the overall number of developers worldwide and on all continents, with Solana currently ranking second

The growth in the number of Ethereum developers is mainly attributed to the rise of numerous Ethereum Layer 2 networks, including Base, Optimism, and Arbitrarum, which have attracted many developers, with Base increasing the most. According to Electric Capital's data, slightly more than half (56%) of Ethereum developers are researching layer 2 networks.

In addition, the Ethereum staking protocol Eigenlayer has driven a wave of large-scale development and innovation in its ecosystem, with many protocols deploying their Actively Verified Services (AVS) within the ecosystem. Electric's report shows that, Eigenlayer It is the fastest-growing developer ecosystem in 2024, with an overall monthly increase of 167% in the number of active developers.

In terms of the Bitcoin network, the number of developers has not changed significantly this year, with the number of senior developers steadily growing. In addition, 42% of Bitcoin developers are researching Bitcoin scaling solutions.

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