Solana Surpasses Ethereum as the Leading Blockchain for New Crypto Developers in 2024

Solana onboarded 7,625 new developers—1,000 more than Ethereum during the same period.

Solana emerged as the top blockchain for new crypto developers in 2024, boasting an 83% increase, according to Electric Capital’s annual report, putting it ahead of Ethereum.

The report, which was reviewed by CoinDesk, revealed that Solana onboarded 7,625 new developers—surpassing Ethereum, which added 6,244 developers during the same period.

While Ethereum remained the largest developer network overall, its monthly active developer count declined by 17%.

However, Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem, which includes projects like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base, remained a major driver of activity, accounting for more than half of the blockchain’s active developers.

"Ethereum is still the global leader in terms of total developers, and that's really driven by these massive network effects, which we can see in the data," Maria Shen, a general partner at Electric Capital, told CoinDesk. "But Solana's momentum is undeniable, and it became the first blockchain to outpace Ethereum in attracting new developers since 2016."

The report also highlighted a geographical shift in developer demographics, with Asia overtaking North America as the leading continent for blockchain developers.

India played a significant role in this trend, contributing 17% of all new crypto developers in 2024.