The developer population is expected to reach 28.7 million by the end of 2024, according to a Statista report. Crypto and blockchain developers account for less than 0.1% of this forecast, but established devs are increasing exponentially.
Electric Capital’s just-published Developer Report shows this data, evidencing how early the crypto and blockchain industry still is. According to the report, 23,613 monthly active developers exist, of which 18,511 were focused on a single blockchain.
Notably, the current population of crypto developers has grown by 3% in the last three years. Yet, it has dropped 7% year over year since 2023 and saw a 23% drop since 2022’s bear market start.
Picks for you
This status could suggest the crypto and blockchain industry could still be in even earlier stages than some enthusiasts imagined. If this proves to be true, the current state of the industry represents a lifetime opportunity for pioneer developers innovating.
United States, India, Ethereum, and Solana dominate among crypto developers in 2024
Overall, 18.8% of all blockchain developers are in the United States, followed by India with 11.7%. The United Kingdom is the third most dominant country, with only 4.3%, evidencing the relevancy of the first two countries.
At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) dominate among the blockchains with more full-time and total crypto developers. Ethereum has 6,244 total devs, of which 2,181 work full-time, committing code at least 10 days per month. Meanwhile, Solana has 3,201 developers, out of which 582 work full-time.
Interestingly, however, the higher growth among blockchain developers in 2024 was from what Electric Capital called “established devs.” These are developers who have worked and contributed for more than two years with open-source crypto projects.
According to the report, there were 11,243 established devs in the industry by November 2024, a 27% growth year over year and a 65% growth in the past two years. Of these 11,243, 668 are working with Ethereum and 141 with Solana. However, 1,151 (10%) are developing for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) stack, which includes other composable blockchains.
On the other hand, Solana was the blockchain that attracted the highest number of new developers in 2024. According to the Developer Report, 7,625 new developers explored Solana at one point this year.
Development opportunity in crypto and blockchain
As things develop, crypto’s ability to cross the chasm, reaching a broader audience, could bring more developers to the industry.
Nevertheless, the significantly small share of the world’s developer population building for blockchain-related projects highlights the growth opportunity for the market in the following years.
Some analysts expect 2025 to be “the mother of all bull markets” and “the biggest crypto bull run ever.” Alex Becker and other experts have pointed out “utility altcoins” as the potential “easiest and surest” play in crypto.
If these predictions become true, we could see a massive inflow of developers into the ecosystem, building utility projects and capitalizing from this lifetime opportunity.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
