Article Author: Echo, MetaEra

Source: MetaEra

Introduction to the Developer Report

At the end of 2024, Electric Capital released its annual Developer Report. The report provides a comprehensive insight into the development activities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem by analyzing over 900 million code commits and 1.7 million code repositories. Upon its release, the report sparked lively discussions in the industry and became a focal point of attention.

Full report: Electric Capital Developer Report: The Rise of Asia, Understanding the New Landscape of Blockchain Developer Ecosystem in 2024

Key Insights

· Developers are leading indicators of value creation.

· The three data collection methods—automated search tools, community-driven open-source classification systems, and collaboration with teams within the ecosystem—ensure the comprehensiveness and real-time updates of the Developer Report data.

· The rise of Layer 2 solutions, such as Base attracting developers with low transaction fees, brings new vitality to the Ethereum ecosystem, indicating that Ethereum's scaling solutions are effective.

· Solana's core competitive advantage in attracting developers lies in the active role of its developer relations team, high user numbers, and community resilience, with its sustainable development in the future depending on developer retention.

· Developers are concentrating on high-quality projects, partly due to natural market dynamics, such as Eigenlayer pioneering the re-staking field, attracting a large number of developers and funds, creating a virtuous cycle.

Full Interview

MetaEra: The Developer Report released by Electric Capital before the year-end has garnered widespread attention in the industry. The development of the industry ecosystem is inseparable from the developer community, and we believe you have invested considerable effort into this report. What considerations led Electric Capital to produce this report, and what investment philosophies does it reflect?

Maria: Developers are leading indicators of value creation. They are dedicated to developing applications that bring value to users. These so-called "killer applications" attract users, and as the user base grows, they in turn attract more developers.

Cryptocurrency has an open-source nature, and in this rapidly evolving industry, we have unprecedented capabilities to measure the "flywheel effect" of this developer value creation.

At Electric Capital, we adhere to an investment strategy that is "research-driven and data-oriented." Developer data is one of the factors we consider, but it is not the sole determinant of our investment decisions.

MetaEra: Could you briefly introduce Electric Capital and some of its considerations when selecting investment projects? Besides focusing on technology, what non-technical factors do you consider when evaluating projects?

Maria: Electric Capital is a globally focused venture capital firm centered on engineering technology. Since its establishment in 2018, it has consistently focused on early-stage cryptocurrency and cutting-edge technology investments. Our investment areas include infrastructure, developer tools, crypto-enabled fintech, decentralized finance, market platforms, applications, and the intersection of crypto technology and artificial intelligence.

MetaEra: Regarding this Developer Report, what specific research methods and tools did you use to collect data for the 2024 blockchain developer ecosystem report? How do you ensure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the data?

Maria: To compile this 2024 Developer Report, we conducted an in-depth study of 1.7 million code repositories, analyzing a total of 902 million code commits. It is important to note that all data comes from open-source repositories. We use proprietary infrastructure to process and analyze this data.

You can explore our classification system at the following link: ++GitHub - Crypto Ecosystems++. For more information about our research methodology, please visit: ++Developer Report Methodology++

MetaEra: What is the data collection cycle for the report? Did you consider the impact of specific events or trends in the industry during different time periods on the data? How do you handle these impacts to ensure the objectivity of the data?

Maria: We employ three data collection methods:

First, we use automated search tools to identify new open-source cryptocurrency code repositories.

Second, we utilize a community-contributable open-source classification system: GitHub - Crypto Ecosystems.

Third, we directly communicate and collaborate with foundations and teams within major ecosystems to ensure that key code repositories are included in our research scope.

Using this continuous data collection approach ensures that the data collected is comprehensive and updated in real-time.

MetaEra: Based on the findings of this report, what predictions do you have for the overall development of the blockchain developer ecosystem in the next 1 to 3 years? Which regions or ecosystems might become new hotspots?

Maria: The report shows that over the past decade, the proportion of North American developers among global developers has continued to decline. As cryptocurrency develops more diversely worldwide, we expect this trend to continue.

Emerging markets in Africa and Latin America are likely to see growth, as developers there are committed to promoting financial inclusion, which is expected to increase the proportion of developers in those regions. Meanwhile, Asia's strong interest in cryptocurrency is likely to continue to dominate the global developer distribution landscape.

MetaEra: From the geographical distribution of developer activity, there are differences in blockchain development preferences among different countries and regions. What factors do you think contribute to these differences?

Maria: Ethereum is the number one ecosystem globally, followed closely by Solana in most regions. However, in third place, different regions show varying preferences based on their unique development environments. For example, in China, Polkadot has successfully secured the third position due to its strong developer community; while in India, Base has penetrated the local market through comprehensive promotional strategies, ranking as the third most popular ecosystem. These differences often reflect the strength of local communities and the effectiveness of developer relations maintenance.

MetaEra: The report mentions that 80% of Ethereum developers lost come from part-time and one-time developers. What issues do you think this reflects about the Ethereum development environment? Or is this a common phenomenon in the industry?

Maria: By definition, part-time developers contribute less than 10 days over a continuous 28-day period; while one-time contributors typically only make small updates like document editing. The number of part-time developers in Ethereum is decreasing, mainly because hobbyists and hackathon participants are leaving the space.

When we delve into the active duration of developers, we find that all the lost developers belong to the group with less than two years of active time. This indicates that many amateur developers who entered the field during the 2022 bull market have gradually exited the industry since then.

MetaEra: With the development of more Layer 2 solutions in the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Base becoming the largest Ethereum L2, how do you think this reshapes the overall developer ecosystem of Ethereum? What new opportunities and challenges do developers face?

Maria: The rise of scaling solutions and Layer 2 networks is evident from the data, which is quite exciting. The scaling issue in the Ethereum ecosystem has been discussed for a long time. Now we see developers starting to embrace Layer 2 networks, no longer focusing solely on the mainnet, which indicates that these scaling solutions are effective and successfully attracting developers.

Taking Layer 2 networks like Base as an example, its low transaction fee application scenarios stand out among many solutions and have garnered significant attention. This advantage is particularly crucial as emerging economies gradually delve deeper into on-chain activities. This growth trend clearly indicates that the Ethereum ecosystem is continuously expanding. On the mainnet, high-value application scenarios are emerging, while on Layer 2 networks, developers can explore and innovate more, injecting continuous vitality into the entire ecosystem.

MetaEra: Regarding the stable number of Bitcoin developers, what do you think are the underlying reasons?

Maria: Overall, compared to other projects in the field, the fluctuation in the number of Bitcoin developers is indeed smaller.

The reason lies in the fact that Bitcoin is the most mature ecosystem, and many developers have been deeply engaged in it for a long time. Due to its high maturity, introducing updates and changes in the Bitcoin ecosystem is correspondingly more challenging. This often makes Bitcoin less active in exploring new application scenarios.

However, with the advancement of Bitcoin scaling solutions, the development of smart contracts, NFTs, and DeFi on Bitcoin, this situation is quietly changing. In fact, I anticipate that as the Bitcoin ecosystem begins to expand into these new application scenarios, the number of Bitcoin developers may experience more significant fluctuations in the future.

MetaEra: With the noticeable increase in the number of developers in emerging ecosystems like Solana, what do you think is their core competitive advantage in successfully attracting developers? What aspects should they focus on to achieve sustainable development in future ecosystem competition?

Maria: Solana has achieved remarkable success in attracting new developers. On one hand, its developer relations team is deeply integrated into the ecosystem's construction process, actively playing a role. They establish close and positive interactions with developers through organizing various events, providing technical support, and building communication platforms, creating a very friendly environment for new developers to participate.

On the other hand, developers tend to choose blockchains with high user volumes. Solana excels in this regard, particularly in areas like meme coins and social experiments, where user numbers have shown significant growth. This thriving scene undoubtedly exerts a strong attraction on new developers, allowing them to see vast prospects for showcasing their talents on the Solana platform.

Additionally, Solana has demonstrated impressive resilience in the face of numerous challenges. Behind this is a core community that remains steadfastly committed to continuous construction and innovation. The cohesion and dedication of this community provide new developers with ample confidence, making them believe they can develop steadily within the Solana ecosystem.

For Solana's sustainable development, a crucial factor is the retention of developers. In the future, we will focus on whether Solana can continuously attract and successfully retain high-quality full-time developers, as this will directly impact the ecosystem's ability to thrive.

MetaEra: The report points out that some ecosystems see an increase in developer numbers while others see a decrease. Do you think this is a natural market elimination mechanism or is it significantly influenced by specific external factors?

Maria: Over time, we can indeed see developers gradually concentrating on high-quality or influential projects. Part of the reason is undoubtedly natural market dynamics, as developers will consider the time and effort they invest as a selection factor.

The reasons for the expansion of each ecosystem vary. For example, Eigenlayer is the fastest-growing crypto ecosystem in 2024. EigenLayer is a great example of how a small group of focused developers can uncover a valuable application scenario, attracting more developers and driving the ecosystem's development. EigenLayer pioneered the re-staking field, attracting nearly $30 billion in total locked value (TVL) in 2024 and drawing more developers to build automated validation systems (AVSes). This example shows that developers creating useful things can initiate a virtuous cycle of adoption and further development.

MetaEra: During your research, did you discover any emerging blockchain development trends or niche ecosystem highlights that are not reflected in the report but you believe are worth paying attention to?

Maria: This is an interesting question; there are indeed many areas worth noting. I think SocialFi, GameFi, and creator-related tracks are all very interesting fields, but unfortunately, we didn't have time to cover them in the report.

MetaEra: For new developers looking to enter the blockchain development field, what advice do you have? What skills, ecosystems, or industry trends should they focus on?

Maria: In my view, there is currently a shortcoming in the crypto space, which is the lack of diversity among the types of developers involved. I sincerely encourage friends from all walks of life to venture into the blockchain field, as there is vast experimental space here.

Especially in the areas of social interaction and consumption, there are many untapped usage patterns and application scenarios. With continuous improvements in user experience and reductions in transaction costs, I clearly see that new consumption application scenarios hold tremendous potential.

This field urgently needs various bold attempts, so I enthusiastically encourage imaginative individuals to join in, bravely conduct experiments, and do something unique. After all, only by doing so can we discover new usage patterns and application scenarios for cryptocurrencies, pushing this field towards a more prosperous development stage.