Aha Bitcoin

2024 Crypto Developer Report

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2024 Crypto Developer Report by Electric Capital

1. Developers: Global Distribution and Shifting Demographics

  • Crypto is Global: Developer distribution has become significantly more global compared to 2015. Asia now holds the top spot with 32% of developers, surpassing North America (24%) and Europe (31%).
  • "Crypto is global. Crypto developers are distributed across the world."
  • Asia Leads New Developer Growth: "Since 2023, India has onboarded the most new crypto developers, moving past the US." 41% of new developers are based in Asia.
  • Declining Overall Developer Activity: While still within the range of historical fluctuations, the total number of monthly active developers fell by 7% in 2024, down to 23,613. This decrease was primarily driven by fewer newcomers and emerging developers. "Developers fell 7% in the last year, within the range of typical annual fluctuations."
  • Established Developers Remain Strong: Established developers (2+ years in crypto) demonstrated resilience, growing 27% in 2024.

    • 2. Ecosystems: Solana, Base, and Ethereum L2s Attract Developers

    • Solana's Rise: Solana emerged as a dominant force, becoming the #1 ecosystem for new developers in July 2024. It was the "first ecosystem to onboard more developers than Ethereum since 2016." Solana also consistently ranks as the #2 ecosystem across all continents.
    • Base's Strong Debut: Base, Coinbase's Layer 2 solution, quickly gained traction, attracting a substantial number of new developers and becoming a popular destination for EVM multi-chain deployers.
    • Ethereum L2s Remain Relevant: Despite Ethereum's overall decline in developer activity, its Layer 2 solutions continue to see healthy new developer interest. Over 300 new developers have explored Ethereum L2s every month since September 2021.

      • 3. Bitcoin: Steady Development and Focus on Scaling Solutions

      • Consistent Developer Base: Bitcoin development activity remained relatively stable throughout 2024, with approximately 1,200 monthly active developers. "Bitcoin developers remained consistent across 2024."
      • Emphasis on Scaling: A significant portion (42%) of Bitcoin developers are working on scaling solutions, highlighting the ongoing effort to improve Bitcoin's transaction throughput.

        • 4. Use Cases: Growth and Innovation Across the Board

        • Zero Knowledge Momentum: While still early, ZK development is experiencing rapid growth. The number of deployed ZK contracts has increased 16x since 2020, and unique contracts using ZK precompiles have grown from 47 in 2020 to 680 in 2024.
        • NFT Explosion: NFT minting activity reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with all-time highs in minting volume, transactions, and active wallets. Base dominated minting volume with 97%, while Solana led in minting wallets (57%) and transactions (64%). NFT use cases are expanding beyond art, encompassing collectibles, DeFi, rewards, identity, and gaming.
        • DeFi Expansion Beyond Ethereum: While DeFi developer numbers slightly declined (5%), total value locked (TVL) and usage saw significant growth outside of Ethereum. Non-Ethereum chains now account for 36% of total DeFi TVL, up from 3% in 2021. Solana leads this expansion, capturing 25% of non-Ethereum TVL.
        • Stablecoins Reach All-Time High: Stablecoin usage hit record levels, with $196B in circulation and $81B in daily volume. Ethereum remains the dominant platform, hosting 59% of stablecoins. Notably, fiat-backed stablecoins now hold $90B in US Treasuries, surpassing the holdings of several countries.

          • 5. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs: Institutional and Retail Adoption

          • Bitcoin ETFs Surge: Bitcoin ETFs have witnessed remarkable growth since their launch, attracting over $50B in net inflows. These ETFs are setting historic records for ETF launches, with IBIT attracting 16x the inflows compared to the average of top ETFs launched since 2022. Retail investors are the dominant owners, holding 68%+ of the largest Bitcoin ETFs.
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