Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"
The number of weekly active developers in the cryptocurrency space has dropped by nearly 40% over the past year, as "narrative-driven" development has taken over the industry.
Cryptocurrency data and analytics platform Artemis Terminal shows that as of March 17, 2024, the number of active developers marked on open-source repositories in a week was 12,380. By March 16, 2025, this number had fallen to about 7,600, indicating a 38.6% decline in weekly active developers over the year.
The number of active developers working across more than 1,500 ecosystems is used as an indicator of the overall health of the Web3 ecosystem. Developer activity suggests increased innovation and maintenance of protocols, contributing to long-term sustainability.
Weekly active developers in the crypto space. Source: Artemis Terminal
The decline in developer activity in the Web3 space has sparked calls on social media for more developer-driven narratives.
Optimism contributor Binji Pande stated on X that the decline, seen as one of the "most obvious signals" of long-term health, indicates a shift in attention, exhaustion of incentives, and speculation outpacing practicality. Developers noted that there isn't much to do on-chain, and those building real foundations are rarely in the spotlight.
Developers warned that this could lead to a collapse of the ecosystem. "If nothing meaningful is happening on-chain, the allocation will lose its power," Pande wrote.
Pande emphasized the need for more support for developers and for more teams to consider end-to-end products, rather than just code.
"There is a lot of narrative-driven development, but there should be more developer-driven narratives," Pande added.
Developer Ben Ward responded to Pande, stating that the market and venture capitalists have long rewarded protocols with products.
Developers noted that the only area in cryptocurrency with product-market fit is the decentralized finance (DeFi) "meme coin casino." However, they pointed out that this is not sustainable and added that there is still a long way to go to build what people want to use.
In the first quarter of 2024, meme coins became the most profitable narrative in the Web3 space, as launching tokens using protocols like Pump.fun became easier. The meme coin craze continued into 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump joined in, launching his own meme coin.
Pande stated that while the industry has come a long way, it may have gone in the wrong direction. Developers expressed that the industry needs to return to basics and consider how to make cryptocurrency feel "futuristic" again.
Related: Bitcoin sentiment falls to a 2023 low, but a "risk appetite" environment may emerge to drive BTC prices up.
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