Electric Capital’s report on the blockchain ecosystem shows that the developer landscape is changing. Fewer developers are joining the field, while experienced developers dominate the job, the research found.
Blockchain Developers are the backbone of the cryptocurrency industry. Developers create apps and tools which attract users and add value. This cycle creates growth as more users attract developers. Electric Capital recently reported that despite the focus of crypto on decentralization the developer market is becoming more centralized with the experienced developers leading the way. research report.
Fewer active developers
In November 2022, the number of blockchain developers active has fallen dramatically. By November 2022 there were more than 31,000 active blockchain developers. In November 2024 the number of developers had fallen to 23,160. This is a 25 percent decline within two years.
The hardest hit were the part-time developers. They dropped from 16,600 developers in November of 2022, to only 12,386 by November 2024. Also, newcomer developer numbers dropped sharply: November 2022 saw 18,547 developers, while two years after that, they were down by half.
Contrary to this, the number of established developers is increasing (especially those with at least two years’ experience). The number of established developers grew from 6,903 to 11,400 over the course of two years.
Andrew Morfill is the CIO at Zodia Custody. It’s an institution first digital asset custodian backed up by Standard Chartered. He says that there are fewer new and part-time blockchain developers. “can likely be attributed to factors such as market volatility and/or increasing complexity due to market maturation.”
“This complexity requires a deeper understanding of the technology, which can be daunting to newcomers. At the same time, this trend shows a consolidation of developers already in the market committing and staying. It is also being seen in institutional customers, where those already in the market are doubling down, while new entrants are still at the fringes with the tipping point for the next wave of adoption yet to be fully realized.”
Andrew Morfill on Crypto.news
Morfill predicted that current market prices would continue to decline. “will likely reverse in the first half of 2025.” The number of new developers is also expected to decrease. “slow the influx of fresh ideas and diverse perspectives,” Continued presence of experienced developers can foster a culture where “newcomers and part-timers have strong mentors and robust frameworks to build upon.”
Meanwhile, Francesco Andreolí, head of the developer community at Consensys, attributed the decline in part-time and new developers to the “increasingly technical demands of blockchain projects,” which Andreolí claims “often require specialized knowledge and sustained commitment.”
“To counter this, more education, mentorship, and beginner-friendly tools are needed to attract the next wave of web3 talent and make the maturing industry more accessible. Striking a balance between leveraging experienced developers and fostering fresh talent is crucial.”
Francesco Andreolí in the conversation with crypto.news
Andreolí also highlighted the importance of ecosystem maturity and accessibility in blockchain development, noting that while the tooling for blockchain development is improving, it often “lacks the polish and simplicity of more mature ecosystems,” This makes it difficult for part time developers to effectively contribute. To address this, Andreolí pointed out that “we are building pre-built environments like CLIs to make onboarding easier for new developers and recreate optimal web2 developer experiences, thereby lowering barriers to entry.”
He also stressed the importance of combating the notion of exclusivity that exists in the blockchain industry. “alienate newcomers, particularly those without a deep technical background.” He spoke out for inclusivity, and the creation of tools to foster it. “democratize access to blockchain development,” These steps will help to foster innovation and diversity, both of which are critical for the long-term success of this industry.
Established developers gain share
Electric Capital “2024 Developer Report,” The study, which examined 902 millions code commits in 1.7 million repositories shows that experienced developers are becoming more influential.
According to the report, established developers, those who have worked in cryptography for more than two years, are experiencing a record-breaking growth rate of 27% YoY. They also commit 70% of their code.
It means that, while overall numbers of developers continue to decline, more experienced developers have a greater share in the workload. In addition, the report found that in 2024 39,148 developers would have explored cryptocurrency. However, this increase amongst newcomers will not be enough to compensate for the losses of those who are part-time and leaving the crypto industry.
Andreolí cautioned that the shift could centralize influence among a small group of contributors, creating risks for the ecosystem.
“The fragmentation of ecosystems — with developers needing different skills, such as Rust for some chains and Solidity for others — creates additional barriers to collaboration and broader participation.”
Francesco Andreolí
Andreolí also expressed concerns about the potential “homogenization of innovation,” Noting that an excessive reliance on experienced developers could lead to “solutions shaped by established paradigms, potentially stifling the creativity that comes from new entrants and diverse backgrounds.” It could, he said, dampen down the creative energy that is often brought to life by individuals and newcomers from different backgrounds.
To mitigate these challenges, Andreolí underscored the importance of fostering cross-chain collaboration through open-source projects, community-driven governance, and tools that promote permissionless innovation, emphasizing that such efforts “activate developers within communities, enabling them to become an integral part of the developer experience.”
Morfill also believes the dominance of developers with experience is growing. “natural sign of the industry’s maturation,” Add though “decentralized development is somewhat of a myth, given the small number of people running some of the entities at the core of the web3 and DeFi ecosystem.”
“Projects such as Solana provide an excellent gateway for the next wave of adoption for developers — as well as projects and institutions — with ecosystems built around core entities, projects and protocols being key in 2025. This also means that cross-chain capability and interoperability will feature heavily and become paramount for projects and entities wanting to scale.”
Andrew Morfill
Where developers live
Blockchain development is global. Asia is now the leading region for developer shares. North America has dropped to the third position. With 18.8%, the U.S. is still the leading country in the world for blockchain developers. This represents a significant drop from the 38% share it held in 2015.
India is emerging to be a global leader. India will have the largest number of new developers in 2024. Its share is 11.7%. Canada, the U.K. (4.8%), China (4%), as well as U.K. (4.3%) have large developer bases.
Developers diversify across chains
More developers are now working in blockchain ecosystems. Fewer than 10% of 2015 developers were working on more than one chain. By 2024, however, 1 in 3 developers will be working on multiple chains.
EthereumETHThe data show that Solana (the largest developer ecosystem) continues to be the most active. However, Solana (SOLBitcoin ( ) has attracted more developers, as its developer base grew by 83% between 2024 and 2030. This makes it the most popular ecosystem for newcomers. Bitcoin is also attracting new developers. Its developer base grew by 83% in 2024, making it the top ecosystem for newcomers.BTCDevelopment remains steady, as 42% of developers are working on scaling up solutions.
Use cases expand
Blockchains are categorized according to their use-cases.
- Ethereum: It is the leader in terms of total developer activity, and it remains an important hub for finance decentralized.
- Solana: It dominates the decentralized exchange market and leads (64%) for low-cost use cases such as NFT/meme coin minting.
- Coinbase’s Base: Accountable for 42 % of all the “new code being written in the Ethereum ecosystem” 95 % of the NFT volume is owned by NFT.
Also growing are stablecoins, re-staking, and the cryptocurrencies themselves. Stablecoins are now circulating over $195 billion and have more than $8 billion daily transactions. Report shows that the number of developers working full time in the restaking sector has increased by 130% between 2024 and 2025, led by EigenLayer.
This is what it means for the space industry
The shift towards experienced developers is a sign of maturity, but it raises questions about centralization. The industry may become less diverse as newcomers drop out and experienced developers take over.
The trend is also indicative of broader challenges in the market. This decline of 7% in developers by 2024 is a sign that many are moving out due to uncertainty in the market or less opportunities. dealt by the FTX collapse. Even now, ripple effects from the bankruptcy continue to have an impact on industry.
Electric Capital’s report describes developers as a “leading indicator of value creation,” It is important to emphasize that the decline of developer participation over time could hinder blockchain innovation.
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Source: crypto.news
