The number of established open-source crypto developers has turned lower after hitting record highs, according to an analysis by The Coinformer of Electric Capital's live developer data.
For years, crypto's shrinking developer population came with an important caveat. Newcomers were leaving, but the people who had stuck around the longest were still building. That distinction is now starting to break down.
Electric Capital's live active developers by tenure chart shows that established developers, those with more than two years in crypto, have begun declining after a multiyear expansion.
Chart comparing active blockchain developers by tenure. Source: Developer Report
The emerging developer cohort, which covers developers with between one and two years of experience, has fallen even further and is now around levels last seen in early 2022, according to the dashboard reviewed by The Coinformer on Aug. 8.
- Electric Capital, a crypto-focused venture capital firm that has tracked open-source developer activity since 2018, said in its 2024 Developer Report that established developers had reached an all-time high after growing 27% year over year.
- They were also responsible for 70% of all code commits.
The trend had held even through earlier industry downturns. In October 2023, Electric Capital found that newcomers had fallen 58% over the previous year, while emerging developers grew 11% and established developers increased 5%.
At the time, the firm said the decline in overall developer activity was coming from newcomers rather than the industry's more experienced builders. The latest data suggests that divide is becoming less clear.
EigenLayer goes from standout growth to a 74% drop
One of the sharpest reversals is showing up at EigenLayer, an Ethereum restaking protocol that Electric Capital previously highlighted as one of crypto's standout developer growth stories in its 2024 report.
At the time, the firm said EigenLayer had grown its number of full-time developers by 130% as developers built actively validated services around its restaking infrastructure.
Chart showing top ecosystem monthly active developers. Source: Developer Report
- The live Electric Capital ecosystem table reviewed by The Coinformer now lists EigenLayer with 33 full-time developers, down 74% over one year.
- The dashboard lists another 105 established developers and 178 developers in total for the ecosystem.
At the time, EigenLayer was central to one of Ethereum's biggest new sectors during the previous cycle. Electric Capital said liquid restaking tokens had added more than $30 billion in total value locked to Ethereum mainnet when it published its 2024 report.