Ethereum has strengthened its leadership in the blockchain industry, outpacing competitors by the number of new developers. According to Electric Capital data cited by the Ethereum Foundation, since the beginning of 2025, the ecosystem of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has gained 16,181 new developers.
Leaders by Developer Growth
Ethereum has become the undisputed leader among blockchains in attracting new developers.
The top three also include:
- Solana — 11,534 new developers;
- Bitcoin — 7,494 developers.
Next in the ranking are Polygon (3,681) and Stacks (3,246).
At the same time, Ethereum remains the leading blockchain by total number of active developers — 31,869, nearly twice as many as its closest competitor, Solana (17,708 specialists).
Why Developers Choose Ethereum
According to members of the community, developers are drawn to Ethereum for several key reasons:
- deep liquidity;
- powerful development tools;
- mature Layer 2 ecosystem;
- strong on-chain demand.
Ethereum continues to serve as the core of the blockchain industry. Dozens of Layer 2 (L2) solutions, including Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism, are built on top of it.
According to L2Beat, the total value locked across L2 networks exceeds $52.94 billion, marking a 28.8% increase over the past year.
Additionally, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols based on Ethereum surpasses $87.2 billion, further confirming its status as the hub of decentralized finance.
Community Reactions
The surge in developer numbers sparked lively discussion within the crypto community.
Some users questioned whether Ethereum truly remains the most attractive network for developers. A long-time contributor under the nickname Guy on the Earth commented:
“I’ve been working with Ethereum for eight years, and it’s still the worst user experience imaginable. Why, with so many developers, hasn’t it become any better?”
Others countered that nearly every developer entering the blockchain space eventually transitions to Ethereum.
The notable increase in the number of Bitcoin developers also drew attention. A community member known as Suraj Sharma quipped:
“What are these 7,000+ Bitcoin developers even doing all day?”
Technological Advancements
Alongside the influx of new talent, Ethereum continues to advance technologically. The scaling project Brevis has introduced a new zkEVM technology called Pico Prism, bringing the network closer to achieving its ambitious target of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).
