- The number of active web3 developers has dropped by almost 40% in a year
- The drop is attributed to funding issues and a lack of developer support
- Reduced developer activities indicate an unhealthy web3 ecosystem
The number of active web3 developers has declined by nearly 40%, according to an analysis by crypto analytics platform Artemis Terminal. The count fell from 12,380 to 7,600, with the phenomenon attributed to a lack of developer support and the demise of a narrative-driven development environment where speculation overshadowed utility. A decrease in the number of web3 developers is viewed as indicative of an unhealthy web3 ecosystem, which hampers innovation, ultimately resulting in fewer projects and decreased adoption of web3 initiatives.
Only 5,190 Developers Active in December
According to Artemis Terminal, a significant drop in weekly active developers started showing in October last year and reached a weekly low of 5,190 on December 23, 2024. Although the tide tried to change in the first weeks of 2025, the numbers never returned to the 12,500 high recorded last year.
The number of deployed contracts across 1,521 ecosystems has been gradually declining since the start of the year, moving from over 100,000 in January to 74,400 in March this year. The same has been happening over the last year, where the number of projects plummeted from highs of 146,000 in April 2024 to the current lows.
Web3 Developers Lack Incentives?
Community members who commented on the drop said it shows a shift in attention due to a lack of incentives. Optimism’s Binji Pande, for example, noted that “there isn’t much to do on-chain today [and] those building real foundations rarely get the spotlight.”
this might be the most important chart in crypto right now.
developer activity: one of the clearest signals of long-term health is down meaningfully from its peak. it appears that attention has shifted, incentives have dried up, and speculation once again moved faster than… pic.twitter.com/NAnOWqPymn
— binji (@binji_x) April 7, 2025
Pande also attributed the drop to a lack of funding. According to the Optimism contributor, the industry needs to shift towards supporting developers and developers to start “thinking about end-to-end product[s] not just code.”
With the number of active developers declining, it’s also likely to affect the adoption of web3 projects.
