Solana outpaces Ethereum in attracting new crypto developers in 2024

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Solana became the leading blockchain for new crypto developers in 2024, with an 83% increase, surpassing Ethereum, according to Electric Capital’s annual report.

The report, reviewed by CoinDesk, revealed that Solana onboarded 7,625 new developers—1,000 more than Ethereum during the same period.

While Ethereum maintained its position as the largest developer network overall, its monthly active developer count declined by 17%, totaling 6,244 developers.

Despite this decline, Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem, which includes projects like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base, remains a major driver of activity, accounting for more than half of the blockchain’s active developers.

Maria Shen, a general partner at Electric Capital, stated that Ethereum remains the global leader in terms of total developers, benefiting from its extensive network effects, which are evident in the data.

However, she acknowledged Solana’s significant momentum, noting that it became the first blockchain since 2016 to surpass Ethereum in attracting new developers.

The report also pointed to a geographical shift in developer demographics.

Asia overtook North America as the leading continent for blockchain developers, with India contributing 17% of all new crypto developers in 2024.

Despite this, the United States remains the country with the largest overall developer base, holding a 19% share of the global total.

Shen commented on this shift, explaining that the continued dominance of the US and North America in the crypto space is both unlikely and undesirable.

She emphasized that crypto is designed to be borderless and noted the wealth of engineering talent outside the US.

“Crypto is meant to be borderless,” she said, highlighting the importance of global diversity in developer contributions.

At press time, Solana was trading at $233, up nearly 2% in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum was at $3,945, up 4.2% over the same period.

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