A report from Electric Capital confirms that Solana has passed Ethereum in terms of new developer growth for the first time since 2016. In 2024, Solana was the leading blockchain ecosystem in onboarding new developers, with an 83% year-on-year increase.
According to the Electric Capital report released Thursday, in 2024, 7,625 developers first chose Solana as their particular blockchain. In contrast, 6,456 new developers joined Ethereum during the same time. But this is a huge shift in developer preference: Solana finally takes the lead over Ethereum for the first time in nearly a decade.
Solana’s Low Fees And Speed Drive Developer Growth
Solana’s developer activity is booming because it has low transaction fees and fast processing speeds, making it a great candidate for developers who want to build potentially large-scale applications. The price increase of Solana’s native token SOL has probably also increased the developer’s confidence in the platform.
With Solana growing, it’s attracted billions of dollars in investment and talent, cementing its position as a blockchain player. While developer activity on Solana is marching forward, Ethereum remains the dominant player in the Layer-1 ecosystem, but that could change as people continue to show interest in alternative blockchains.
The Electric Capital report also reveled in the boom of multi-chain development. Today, 34% of developers work on multiple blockchains, almost four times more than in 2015, with only slightly less than 10%. These multi-chain developers chose base as the most popular chain, expanding the blockchain quintet.
Solana has grown vastly in new developers, and Ethereum remains the leader in developer activity for the total blockchain. In the US, UK, Canada, and China, the Ethereum ecosystem remains strong in terms of the number of developers.
While India has witnessed the biggest spurt in new developers since 2023, it prefers Solana over Ethereum. This regional shift ensures that Ethereum receives gains from its deep network effects, but even across continents, it has become widespread.
Shen said that although Polkadot counts Evmos as a developer, ‘Ethereum is always going to dominate by overall devs everywhere, every continent.’ “The data suggest you can see deep network effects in Ethereum.”
Additionally, the report showed that India had overtaken the US with new crypto developers on board in 2024, solidifying its place as a fast-emerging crypto hotbed. The rapidly developing landscape of blockchain development in emerging markets is evident from Solana’s growing popularity in India.
Finally, despite the fact that Ethereum still leads by total developer activity, Solana’s strong growth in new developer onboarding could very well point to a shift in the blockchain ecosystem. Solana’s rapid ascent has raised a lot of excitement for the blockchain space as multi-chain development continues to grow, and developers are looking for platforms with scalability, speed, and low fees.
