EVM-compatible networks attract the vast majority of active multichain developers — 9 out of 10 specialists are involved in at least one EVM project.
In Q4 2023, 30% of all Web3 devs worked on at least two blockchain networks each month. Meanwhile, 87% of all multichain developers were involved in at least one EVM project. This was reported by Electric Capital.
Some developers take part in several projects running on the Ethereum Virtual Machine at once. The largest number of programmers working on the Ethereum mainnet make simultaneous changes to the code of BNB Chain (37%) and Polygon (35%). A high percentage of developers are also engaged in parallel work on the StarkNet, Optimism, and Arbitrum blockchains.
The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is a virtual computing environment responsible for executing smart contracts on Ethereum. When another blockchain platform or product claims compatibility with the EVM, it means that they can support smart contracts built for Ethereum without having to rewrite or modify them. This is especially valuable for developers, as they can use Ethereum’s existing code, tools, and infrastructure to make and run their apps.
Analysts point out that Ethereum is leading the way in attracting new developers, with over 16,700 rookies joining the project’s code in 2023. This is almost three times more than Polygon (over 6,200 new devs) and almost four times more than Solana (over 4,700 new devs).
Meanwhile, the monthly number of active developers across the entire crypto ecosystem dropped 24% year-over-year to 22,411 active specialists in Q4 2023. However, the number of programmers who worked on Web3 projects for more than a year increased by 16% over the past year. Such dynamics was noted by Electric Capital analysts already in the middle of last year.
In 2023, only 17 crypto ecosystems attracted more than a thousand active developers every month. The Bitcoin community also saw a drop in developer activity — over the past year, their number fell by 19%, and in Q4, it amounted to just over 1,000 active professionals each month. About 40% of them work on L2 solutions, sidechains, and scaling protocols.
In early January, developers from Ninjalerts used the Ordinals protocol to insert a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator into Bitcoin, allowing users to play classic video games right in their browser.
