Solana’s Surge: New Developer Count Overtakes Ethereum, Signalling Rapid Growth
- Despite a marginal 7% decline, the global cryptocurrency developer population remained steady at 23,613 monthly active developers in November 2024.
- Solana’s monthly developer count grew 83%, attracting 7,625 new developers, outpacing Ethereum in growth.
Electric Capital’s latest report reveals that the global population of cryptocurrency developers remained relatively steady in 2024, despite some newer entrants exiting the industry. Basically, most of these developers are veterans that chose to stay.
But in reality, the total number of crypto developers declined marginally, by 7%, while monthly active developers stood at 23,613 in November. This might not surprise many of you, yet Solana (SOL) has become the most attractive blockchain for new developers in 2024, outpacing Ethereum (ETH).
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So, out of the 39,148 developers that entered the crypto industry this year, 7,625 chose to build on Solana, reflecting an 83% increase in Solana’s developer activity compared to last year. It is also the first time since 2016 that a blockchain ecosystem outpaced Ethereum in developer growth.
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Asia Surpasses North America in Developer Headcount
Not so fast. While Ethereum’s monthly developer count decreased by 17% to 6,244, it still is the number one blockchain when it comes to total developer base across regions, including North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa, while Solana ranks second.
The rise in developer interest in Solana is attributed to increased network and user activity, partly driven by the popularity of memecoins, with platforms like Pump.fun facilitating the launch of these types of coin launches.
An interesting find in Electric Capital’s report is that there’s a shift in the geographic distribution of developers. Asia now hosts the largest number of blockchain developers, surpassing North America, which fell to third place.
Despite this, the US retains the highest share of developers at 19%. Meanwhile, India led in onboarding new developers, accounting for 17% of new entrants, driven by education programs and hackathons.
Moving on, the report also noted significant developer growth across other blockchain ecosystems. Aptos, Base, Internet Computer, NEAR, Polkadot, Polygon, Starknet and Sui each gained over 1,000 new developers in 2024. Additionally, BNB, Optimism, Scroll, Stellar and TON attracted at least 500 new developers during the same period.
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Eigenlayer, Ethereum’s leading restaking protocol, recorded some notable gains, registering a 167% increase in monthly developers in 2024 as new services were deployed within its ecosystem.
