Developers are still showing a strong preference for layer-1 blockchain networks, despite the rise of layer-2 ecosystems. This is according to Token Terminal’s weekly fundamentals report on March 30, which found that the top 25 projects in terms of active developers are dominated by layer-1 blockchains. Ethereum remains the network of choice for active developers, with 186 active daily developers over the past month. Polkadot and Kusama are in second place with 171 daily developers.
However, the report also noted that the number of active developers in the Ethereum ecosystem has declined by 5% over the past month. Conversely, those working on Polkadot have increased by 5.6% over the same period. The report suggests that the recent increase in active developers for Polkadot is due to its strong venture capital backing, with Sui and Aptos also seeing a 20% increase in active daily developers over the past month thanks to their large funding rounds.
While layer-1 blockchains continue to dominate in terms of active developers, the layer-2 ecosystem has been gaining momentum thanks to new launches and airdrops. Polygon was identified as the L2 leader, with 46 daily active developers over the past 30 days, followed by Optimism and Arbitrum.
In terms of dApps, Chainlink (LINK) leads the pack with 77 active developers over the past month, while Osmosis was identified as the second most popular dApp for developers. Lido’s active developer count has also been trending upwards over the past year, most likely due to the development of Lido V2.
The report concludes that active developers are an important metric for investors to consider, stating: “If a protocol generates $50M in revenue, it’s really valuable to know if it’s being developed by 20 or 200 people.”
To summarize layer-1 blockchains such as Ethereum continue to dominate in terms of active developers and the layer-2 ecosystem and individual dApps are also seeing strong developer interest. The increase in active developers for Polkadot, Sui, and Aptos can be attributed to their strong venture capital backing, which allows them to afford more developers. Additionally, the rise in active developers for Chainlink and Lido demonstrates the ongoing development and innovation within these dApp projects. Investors should pay attention to the number of active developers working on a project as it can provide valuable insight into the project’s potential for success in the long run.