According to Electric Capital's Developer Report, the number of new developers entering the cryptocurrency space has decreased by almost 50% in the past year. The report reveals that long-term programmers who have been in the industry for more than a year contribute more code and have longer tenures compared to developers who leave.
As of June 1, the cryptocurrency ecosystem had an estimated 21,300 monthly active open source developers. However, since June 2022, the number of developers in the field has dropped by 22%. It should be noted that the departure of developers who have been in The industry for less than a year has had a relatively minor impact, as they accounted for less than 20% of the committed code within the past 12 months. Long-term developers with over a year of experience are responsible for over 80% of the committed code.
The report indicates that approximately 7,700 new developers have left the field since June 2022. While emerging developers with up to two years of experience increased by 1,650, established developers with more than two years of experience in the cryptocurrency Cy space also increased by 1,650. The drop in new developers is attributed to fewer coders exploring opportunities in the cryptocurrency sector, which has been further affected by the ongoing bear market that has impacted the broader cryptocurrency industry.
The analysis suggests that the retention rate of new developers in 2023 will be significantly lower compared to 2022 and 2021, but this trend is not considered abnormal over a longer time frame. The report highlights that new developers typically enter the cryptocurrency space during market peaks. During the bull market in January 2018, new developers accounted for a dominance of 70%, while after reaching a market record high in November 2021, newcomers dominated by 60% within six months. Conversely, in bear markets, emerging and established developerators tend to dominate the industry. The tough market conditions in the second half of 2022 led to numerous layoffs as companies downsized to cope with the challenging environment.
