Crypto Industry Losing Developers: Number Down Nearly 40% in a Year
Date: 2025-04-09 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
The crypto industry has seen a noticeable decline in the number of active Web3 developers over the past year. According to Artemis Terminal, the number of developers working on public repositories each week has fallen from 12,380 to 7,600, a 38.6% drop compared to March 2024.
This is concerning because developer activity is considered a critical indicator of the health of the Web3 environment. It directly impacts innovation, the quality of support for existing protocols, and the overall development of the industry.
One of the reasons for the decline, according to Optimism engineer Binji Pande, is the lack of projects that offer real value. He believes that the blockchain space is dominated by a “narrative” focus rather than a result-oriented one. Many startups, he says, are focused on creating buzz around their ideas rather than developing useful products. It’s hard to stay motivated in such an environment, especially if real innovation is overshadowed by the hype.
Pande emphasizes that to regain developer interest, the ecosystem needs to focus on solving specific user problems. If a platform doesn’t provide practical value, its existence loses its meaning, he believes.
Developer Ben Ward is also critical of the current situation. He points out that in recent years, venture funding has most often been directed to projects that do not create long-term value. As a result, the main way to make money in the industry has become speculation on meme tokens, especially in the DeFi space, which he calls a kind of “casino”.
Pande added that Web3 has changed dramatically in recent years, and, unfortunately, these changes can hardly be called positive. In his opinion, the crypto industry needs to regain its status as the technology of the future - otherwise, it risks completely losing the trust and support of the developer community.
A symbolic example of the current problems was the recent exit of Web3 startup Harpie, backed by Dragonfly and Coinbase. The company announced its closure on March 27, citing the failure of its business model. The case was another signal that without clear value and demand for its products, even well-funded projects may not survive.
