Bear Markets: A Developer’s Playground
It might sound counterintuitive, but bear markets can often be the best time for builders in the Web3 space. Picture this: a near 70% drop in crypto prices, and yet, the number of monthly active developers has surged by a whopping 5.4%, bringing the total to over 23,300. It seems like while some investors are nursing their losses, developers are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.
What’s Cooking in Developer Kitchens?
According to a January 16 report from Electric Capital, “full-time” developers—those busy bees contributing to about 76% of GitHub commits—saw a 15.2% increase, totaling over 7,000. Meanwhile, “one-time” builders took a slight detour downwards, dropping by 6.2% to over 3,500. So, while some builders may have taken a break, those committed to the craft are doubling down.
The Curious Case of Developer Activity
Despite the crypto market cap taking a nosedive from its all-time high (ATH) of $2.9 trillion in November 2021, developer activity held its ground until mid-2022. It wasn’t until June that we saw a notable drop-off, following the catastrophic collapse of the Terra ecosystem, whose developers either ducked out or shifted gears. To be precise, from June to September, weekly active Web3 developers saw a decline of 26%. Talk about a rollercoaster ride!
New Faces in the Web3 World
In a surprising twist, last year marked a high water mark for Web3 development: 61,127 new developers joined the ranks—the most ever recorded. This resulted in an impressive 25.8% increase compared to 2021. To top it off, more developers (109,723) launched their first line of open-source crypto code last year than the total from 2014 to 2020. Who knew the bear could inspire so many?
Ethereum’s Reign and the Rise of Other Ecosystems
While Ethereum continued to flex its muscles, witnessing a 9% increase in full-time developers (now at 1,873), other ecosystems are not far behind. Polkadot, Cosmos, and Solana may not have quite matched Ethereum, but their growth was nothing to sneeze at—Cosmos and Solana both saw boosts of 34% and 36%, respectively. Meanwhile, Starknet sprung ahead with a staggering 214% growth. It appears the competition to be the cool kid on the blockchain block is heating up!
The Fallout from Terra’s Collapse
The report highlighted the aftermath of Terra’s unfortunate downfall, revealing that only 28 out of the original Terra developers stuck around for Terra 2.0. The others? A staggering 143 developers moved on to greener pastures in other ecosystems. Notably, 42 of those migrated to Cosmos, a sign of shifting allegiances and perhaps a newfound appreciation for diversification.
Conclusion: More than Meets the Eye
While the crypto market may be experiencing turbulence, the development landscape is bustling with activity. Electric Capital’s report hints that many more developers are out there, engaged in projects that may be under the radar due to their close-sourced nature. So, while prices may fluctuate, it appears that the builders are here to stay, churning out innovations, solving problems, and perhaps waiting for the market to play catch-up.
