Since the beginning of 2025, the number of code publications in crypto projects has plummeted by 75%, from 850,000 to 210,000. The number of active developers has decreased by 56%, down to 4,600, according to Artemis.

Source: Artemis.

The exodus from the blockchain ecosystem is occurring despite a global growth in the IT sector. According to the Octoverse report, GitHub's user base increased by 36 million in 2025, with overall programmer activity rising by 25%.

This data confirms a mass migration of specialists from the crypto industry to the field of artificial intelligence. There are already over 4.3 million AI repositories on GitHub, with generative AI projects attracting more than a million contributors each month.

Against this backdrop, the base of active developers in major networks has significantly shrunk:

  • in Ethereum — down 34% (to 2,811);
  • in Solana — down 40% (to 942);
  • in Base — down 52% (to 378).

Networks that were popular during the last bull market have been hit even harder. Aptos and Celo have lost more than half of their developers, while activity in BNB Chain has plummeted by 85%.

The only segment showing positive growth is the infrastructure for non-custodial wallets, where employment has increased by 6%.

The industry is primarily losing newcomers and part-time employees, whose numbers have dropped by 58%. Meanwhile, the share of specialists with over two years of experience has risen by 27%. This "core" now accounts for 70% of all programming code in crypto projects.

Typically, developer activity returns with a rise in the cryptocurrency market. However, during previous downturns, programmers lacked such attractive alternatives.

Today, the generative AI sector offers active venture funding and high commercial demand, making it challenging for talent to return to the blockchain industry.

Investment Stagnation

The situation is exacerbated by capital outflows from the industry itself. The volume of venture deals in the crypto sector has fallen to its lowest level in the past six years.

In the first quarter of 2026, the total investment volume reached only $2.2 billion, distributed as follows:

  • seed rounds — $166 million (returning to 2020 levels);
  • Series A — $293 million;
  • Series B — $237 million;
  • Series C — $495 million;
  • strategic investments — $606 million.

Investors showed the most interest in crypto financial services (24%) and the DeFi sector (27%). Meanwhile, funding for core infrastructure and trading and brokerage services was minimal.

In the current environment, venture funds are focusing on stablecoins, payment networks, and new primitives. The main goal of this strategy is to maximize profits from the ongoing transactional activity in the market.

As a reminder, since the beginning of 2025, the number of developers in the Ethereum ecosystem has increased by 16,181.