Ethereum continues to be the best blockchain network for developers, while there is a steady increase in developers working across multiple blockchain networks. According to the latest report by Electric Capital, Ethereum remains the number one blockchain network among crypto developers, with over 70% of new contract codes first being used on this network.
Ethereum: The Preferred Choice for Blockchain Developers
Electric Capital‘s 2023 Crypto Developer Report reveals that the majority of smart contract code initiated on the Ethereum network is unique, with 71% of contracts first used in the Ethereum ecosystem, making Ethereum the top blockchain network choice for developers. Meanwhile, the number of multi-blockchain developers has increased in 2023. The report indicates that multi-blockchain developers, who were 3% in 2015, have risen to 34% in 2023, witnessing a growth of over tenfold in eight years.
It is not surprising to see developers making cross-usage between Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain networks. These networks include BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and several Layer-2 networks. All these blockchain networks use the same smart contract logic as Ethereum.
According to Electric Capital, cross-development is occurring between BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum, with each of the three blockchain networks sharing at least 30% of their multi-chain distributors with each other. Additionally, BNB shares the highest number of multi-blockchain developers with Ethereum at 39%, followed by Polygon at 36% and Arbitrum at 24%, while Avalanche has the lowest rate at 18%.
Noteworthy Details About Bitcoin
In total, a quarter of all blockchain developers work on either Ethereum or Bitcoin, and as of December 2023, the number of monthly active developers was 7,864, which is a 25% decrease compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of active developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem decreased by 19% from 1,322 in December 2022 to 1,071 monthly active developers.
The report suggests that the majority of the decline stemmed from part-time developers and those working on multiple chains, while developers focused solely on Bitcoin are likely to continue working on the network. Since 2017, over a thousand developers have chosen the Bitcoin ecosystem, with the network gaining the most new developers in 2022, with over 2,700 joining.
Although Bitcoin transaction volumes surged in 2023 following the revival of the Ordinals space, only 3% of all Bitcoin developers work on the project, with 40% focusing on Bitcoin Layer-2 networks and other scaling solutions. Aside from Bitcoin and Ethereum, as of December 2023, there were more than 9,300 monthly active developers working in the top 200 crypto ecosystems by market value, but this figure represents a 31% decrease compared to 2022 records.
