The blockchain developer ecosystem is changing: fewer developers are entering the space and experienced developers are dominating the work, Electric Capital’s research report shows.
Blockchain developers are key to the crypto industry. They develop apps and tools that attract users and create value. More users bring more developers, creating a growth cycle. However, despite crypto’s focus on decentralization, the developer market appears to be becoming more centralized, with experienced developers taking the lead, according to Electric Capital’s recent research report.
Less active developers
The total number of active blockchain developers has plummeted. As of November 2022, there were over 31,000 active developers. By November 2024, the number had fallen to 23,160, a decline of 25% in two years.
Part-time developers were hit the hardest. Their number fell from 16,600 in November 2022 to 12,386 in November 2024. There was also a sharp decline in newcomer developers: in November 2022 there were 18,547 newcomers, two years later the number fell by more than half to just 8,986 .
In contrast, there are more and more established developers (those with two or more years of experience). During the same period, there were 6,903 established developers, and that number grew to 11,400 in just two years, an increase of 65%.
Andrew Morfill, CIO of Zodia Custody, an institutional digital asset custodian backed by Standard Chartered, says the decline in part-time and new blockchain developers “is likely due to factors such as market volatility and/or….”
