30s Summary

This year, Solana attracted more new developers than Ethereum, particularly from Asia, according to an Electric Capital report, marking the first time since 2016 that a network has overtaken Ethereum in this regard. The data shows that 7,625 developers joined Solana in 2022, versus Ethereum’s 6,456. However, Ethereum remained the leader in terms of overall developer activity. Despite this, the overall influx of new developers dipped by 7% from 2023, while Asia emerged as the top continent for developer growth, largely due to increased activity in India.

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This year, the Solana network has become a new hotspot for developers, managing to attract more rookies than the Ethereum network which has dominated this space for the past eight years. However, Ethereum still rules the roost in terms of total activity by developers.

An Electric Capital report published on December 12 showed that Solana for the first time since 2016 scooped up more newbie developers than Ethereum. The data reveals that a total of 7,625 new developers joined up with Solana this year, mainly from Asia, compared to 6,456 who opted for Ethereum.

But Solana’s rise hasn’t been slow and steady. The network even managed to outdo Ethereum for short spells at times during the year. For example, on March 18, the level of activity on Solana went over that on Ethereum because of a rush for Solana-based memecoins. And then on October 28, Solana actually overtook Ethereum in daily network fee generation for a 24-hour period.

In spite of all this, the number of new developers joining the crypto scene this year dipped 7% from 2023, totaling 39,148, which is about half of the all-time high of more than 77,000 in 2022.

Even though Ethereum experienced a 17% drop in monthly developers over the last year, bringing the total down to 6,244, it still enjoys the largest pool of total developer activity. According to data from Electric Capital, Ethereum’s grip spans across Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and South America. Ethereum’s layer-2 networks also witnessed a surge in activity of 64% since 2021.

The distribution of crypto developers isn’t bound by geographies. For instance, developer numbers have soared in Africa, South America, and Asia. Interestingly, Asia pulled ahead this year with one in three developers worldwide residing in the continent, thanks in part to India successfully encouraging the most new crypto developers.