Ethereum Welcomes 16,000 New Developers in 2025, While Solana Dominates the Spotlight

Ethereum Welcomes 16,000 New Developers in 2025, While Solana Dominates the Spotlight

Summary: Ethereum has welcomed 16,181 new developers from January to September 2025, making it the leading blockchain for developer additions. However, Solana has garnered significant attention, promoting itself as the industry’s hottest ecosystem. Despite Ethereum's larger developer pool, Solana's growth rate and trending market interest are noteworthy. The article also explores the challenges Ethereum faces in retaining talent amidst compensation disparities.

Key Takeaways

Developer Growth: Ethereum gained 16,181 new developers, totaling 31,869, while Solana grew its developer base by 83% with 11,534 new developers.
Developer Compensation: Ethereum developers earn less than market averages; median earnings are $140,000 against an industry average of $359,000.
Regional Shifts: Asia has overtaken North America in developer shares, with India leading in new developer onboarding.
Challenges: Despite its growth, Ethereum struggles to retain developers due to competitive external offers.
Salaries Trends: Crypto salaries have decreased across roles, except for executive positions, which have seen significant increases.

Ethereum vs. Solana: A Standoff in Developer Growth

Between January and September 2025, Ethereum attracted 16,181 new developers, outperforming all other blockchains. According to data from Electric Capital, Ethereum remains the “#1 ecosystem for new developers in 2025," boasting a total of 31,869 active developers. In contrast, Solana saw a significant increase as well, adding 11,534 developers and reporting a total of 17,708.

Ethereum Welcomes 16,000 New Developers in 2025, While Solana Dominates the Spotlight Source: X/@ethereumfndn

Despite these figures, Solana was recognized as the “#1 ecosystem for new developers” in Electric Capital’s 2024 annual report due to its impressive 83% year-over-year growth. This situation highlights a divide: while Ethereum leads in total developer count, Solana steals the spotlight with its rapid expansion and market engagement.

Bitcoin follows in third place, adding 7,494 new developers and reaching a total of 11,036 active contributors. Notably, the overall number of crypto developers declined by 7% in 2024; however, those with over two years of experience increased by 27%, contributing to 70% of the code produced.

Disparities in Developer Compensation and Location Dynamics

Ethereum's position as the leading ecosystem is not without its challenges. The Ethereum Foundation reported that median compensation for core developers is $140,000, significantly lower than the market average of around $359,000. Researchers at Ethereum even turned down lucrative offers, including one worth $700,000, to remain part of the project.

Ethereum maintains its top spot across all continents in terms of developer activity, but Asia now leads in this space, surpassing North America. India has emerged as a significant contributor, onboarding the most new crypto developers. In the U.S., the developer share decreased to 19% from 38% in 2015.

According to Electric Capital’s report from 2024, one-third of crypto developers are working on multiple chains, an increase from under 10% in 2015. The Base protocol has generated 42% of the new code written within Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Despite leading in new developer additions, Ethereum struggles to keep its talent due to competitive offers from rival networks, with 40% of core developers having received external job offers with better compensation. The Protocol Guild's efforts to distribute over $33 million since May 2022 resulted in median earnings of $67,121 a year for contributors, bringing total median compensation up to $207,121—still 33% below market standards.

A recent survey by Sherlock Communications highlighted that developers in Latin America prefer to build on established blockchains like Ethereum and Polygon. The study of 85 developers found that Ethereum accounted for over 75% of blockchain activities between June 2024 and June 2025, while Polygon grew from 11% to 20%.

Salary Trends in the Crypto Industry

As preferences among developers shift, overall crypto salaries have seen a decline across nearly all roles from 2024 to 2025, even amid Bitcoin's bullish market performance, according to Dragonfly Capital. Entry-level positions were hit the hardest, while executive salaries have risen significantly, producing what Dragonfly calls “a barbell effect” in the industry.

International engineering executives now command higher salaries than their U.S. counterparts, earning between $530,000 and $780,000. Product management roles have the highest pay, ranging from $390,000 to $484,000, and founder salaries rose 37% to reach $197,000, up from $144,000 in 2023.

Despite this increase in executive pay, mid-level salaries remained largely stagnant, while entry-level roles faced steep drops in earnings.

Ethereum Welcomes 16,000 New Developers in 2025, While Solana Dominates the Spotlight Source: Dragonfly

The presence of engineering-led teams has grown, with 78% of them expanding despite compensation challenges leading to decreased offer rates by 83%. Although general salary figures decreased, Web3 developers continue to receive premium paychecks, with North American salaries varying between $120,000 and $250,000, European salaries between $82,400 and $185,400, and Asia-Pacific salaries ranging from $70,000 to $150,000.

Specialized roles remain lucrative, with zero-knowledge cryptographers earning annual wages of $300,000, blockchain developers seeing salaries between $150,000 and $210,000, and senior smart contract engineers making between $160,000 and $250,000.

The trend towards globalization in hiring has accelerated, with 81% of companies adopting a global-first approach. Asia’s involvement nearly doubled year-over-year, climbing from 20% to 41%, while work arrangements are now 54% fully remote, 30% hybrid, and only 2% fully in-office.