Developers seem to be taking a break from the web3. According to a report by Electric Capital, an early-stage blockchain venture fund, the ranks of crypto-skilled software engineers have shrunk by 22% since last year's peak.
As per statistics, there were 21,300 web3 developers active last month, down from a high of 27,300 in June 2022. Despite this decline, the report highlights a 25% increase in activity over the past two years and a staggering 92% rise since mid-2020.
"There are more monthly active developers today than before crypto markets hit an all-time high in Nov 2021. Historically, developers in bear markets have lower retention," Electric Capital commented on the situation in a statement for TheDefiant.io.
Despite the slide in recent numbers, long-term statistics suggest that the resilience of the web3 ecosystem remains strong, with developers continuing to contribute even in bear market conditions.
Engineers with over-12-month experience in crypto have contributed over 80% of code commits. On the other hand, newcomers with an industry experience of less than 12 months who left crypto recently are responsible for less than 20% of all commits.
The bearish trend in 2022 scared off the newbies, with a whopping 48% decline year-on-year: 7,700 developers who were just getting their feet wet in the crypto world decided to bail. At the same time, the number of monthly active contributors among emerging developers (1–2-year experience) grew by 44% (+1.65K) and by 2% (+0-.15K) in the case of veterans (+2 years of experience).
Still, the industry has been attracting less new talent in the last twelve months, with monthly numbers of newcomers almost steadily dropping from 5.9K in May 2022 to 2.9K in May 2023. Such a decline aligns with historical trends, though: newcomers tend to flock in around market peaks, attracted by the hype and money.
