Crypto Is Bleeding Developers And Nobody’s Talking About It
The message is clear: Crypto developers are directionally fatigued.
Crypto is bleeding developers.
We’re watching a talent migration in real-time.
So where are devs going? And more importantly — why? 👇
1️⃣ Developer Activity Down
Since the 2022 peak, developer activity is down nearly 40%.
Even worse — the decline is steepest among new contributors, the ones who breathe life into emerging ecosystems.
Year-over-year, active devs dropped another 7%.
Attention has shifted. Incentives have dried up.
2️⃣ AI Stole Crypto’s Narrative (and Builders)
Crypto was the focus until AI showed up with a bigger story.
🔹 ChatGPT dropped → dev interest in crypto fell.
🔹 GitHub saw a 98% increase in generative AI repos in 2024.
🔹 25% of devs now work on AI.
🔹 Only 3% mention blockchain in the same breath.
3️⃣ Infra Got Funded, Apps Got Forgotten
Capital just shifted upstream:
→ $5.5B poured into crypto infra in 2024.
→ App-layer startups, flatlined.
→ Builder grants are rare, fragmented, or broken.
Infra is booming but if no one’s building on top.
4️⃣ Culture Is Cannibalizing Itself
Memecoins raise millions in minutes.
Smart, product-focused teams fade into noise.
Speculators shout. Builders burn out.
The cost of shipping something real feels higher than ever.
5️⃣ But There Is Movement...
Just not where you think it is.
Look deeper, and the shift isn’t uniform:
→ Asia leads in dev share now.
→ India added more new devs than any region in 2024.
→ @base powers 42% of all new ETH ecosystem code.
→ @solana devs up 83% YoY.
→ 1 in 3 devs now work across multiple chains.
Dev momentum exists but fragmented and regionalized.