The fluctuating cryptocurrency market has undergone a notable shift in its development landscape over the last year. Despite Bitcoin nudging towards its highest price in over a year, there has been a 22% decrease in active open-source developers working on crypto projects, as highlighted in a report by venture firm Electric Capital.
Active developers decline
According to the report, the number of active developers has declined from 27,200 active developers in June of the previous year to 21,300 this year. Cryptanalyst Miles Deutscher suggested that this decline in developer activity can be explained by three reasons:
π€ The growth and attractiveness of artificial intelligence technology sectors;
π The reduction in venture capital investment;
ποΈ Budget optimization efforts within crypto companies.
Experienced developers growth
But hold on, there is still a silver lining: the Electric Capital report reveals that most of the departing developers were actually newcomers with less than a year of experience in the crypto world. These newbies were responsible for less than 20% of all code commits.
In fact, the number of experienced developers with over a year of experience has grown. Those have contributed more than 80% of the code. Their count went up from 11,300 to 13,100 in the past year, a gain of almost 16%.
Despite these developments, the report suggests that the exodus of fresh talent is not necessarily a red flag. Historical data shows that the developer landscape tends to shift between newcomers and veterans in sync with market cycles.
Desired projects for devs
While some areas are facing a decline in newbie interest, a few ecosystems have demonstrated growth. Projects like Osmosis, Sui, Aptos, TON, Optimism, and Aztec Protocol have seen an increase in monthly developers compared to last year. It seems that they have got something special that keeps excitement alive in the crypto development landscape.
