The crypto industry has weathered its fair share of storms, but none like the one of developers leaving in the middle of a crypto winter. A recent report by Electric Capital revealed that the number of developers working on open source crypto projects has decreased significantly. There were 19,300 developers contributing to crypto projects as of October 1, 2023, a 27% decrease over the past 12 months, according to a report released Wednesday.
Experts note that the decline in the number of developers is especially significant when compared to the bear market conditions of October 1, 2020, when the number of developers increased by 66%.
Early crypto developers survive better than newcomers
According to the report, the largest portion of this decline was driven by new entrants who have been in the cryptocurrency industry for less than a year. That number fell by an astonishing 58%, or 8,300 people. In contrast, the number of experienced developers has increased slightly over a longer period of time.
Notably, only 1,721 developers entered the field in September alone, which is significantly lower than in previous years. This decline in new entrants correlates with market cycles: in bear periods, experienced developers tend to dominate the industry, whereas in bull periods, new entrants make up a larger portion of the workforce. It has been observed that .
The Electric Capital report also highlights that developers who remain in the cryptocurrency industry tend to contribute more code, work more days, and stay in the industry longer than those who leave. Did. This suggests that retaining experienced talent is essential for industry growth and development.
But it's not all doom and gloom. Some large crypto projects (defined as projects with 70 or more monthly active developers) have seen a trend toward employee expansion. Examples include Aztec Protocol, Celestia, Ripple, TON, zkSync, and StarkNet, all of which have growing developer teams.
Factors behind the escape
On the other hand, experts point out that there are various reasons for the decline in the number of cryptocurrency developers. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko recently linked this developer exodus to regulatory pressures, particularly in the United States. Additionally, overall market sentiment, changes in demand for specific skills, and changes in the application layer of crypto development are also contributing to this trend.
