Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions Starknet and zkSync have shown growth in their total monthly active developer counts, bucking the downward trend seen in other platforms such as Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana, according to data from Electric Capital’s updated developer report. While Starknet and zkSync recorded increases of 3% and 6% respectively, Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana saw their developer counts fall by significant percentages.
StarkWare’s Starknet and Matter Labs’ zkSync are layer 2 solutions that aim to scale Ethereum through zero-knowledge rollups. These solutions have gained attention in 2023 due to their potential to enhance scalability. Starknet recently introduced its “Quantum Leap” feature, which became operational in July. This feature has the ability to significantly increase Ethereum’s transactions per second (TPS), potentially reaching up to 90 TPS in certain scenarios.
Both Starknet and zkSync have been actively working on zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) solutions as part of their efforts to further scale Ethereum. These solutions aim to improve the scalability of the Ethereum network in 2023. Additionally, zkSync has been developing a network of “Hyperchains” to establish an interoperable ecosystem of protocols and sovereign chains, which is expected to be ready by the end of 2023.
Electric Capital’s report identified a significant decrease of 27.7% in total monthly active developers over the last 12 months, reflecting a wider trend across the industry. However, Starknet and zkSync remain exceptions to this trend, with their developer counts showing growth. Other platforms, including Chainlink, Stellar, Aztec Protocol, and Ripple, also experienced growth in developer counts, albeit at a lower level compared to Starknet and zkSync.
Electric Capital software engineer Enrique Herreros highlighted the demographic characteristics of the departing active monthly developers. Herreros noted that a majority of the departing developers were newcomers, with less than one year of experience. In contrast, established developers (more than two years of experience) and emerging developers (one to two years of experience) remained relatively steady.
This cyclic trend in the developer market, where newcomers dominate during bullish phases but decrease in number when prices decline, is not uncommon. The volatility of the cryptocurrency market often affects new entrants, causing them to leave or participate less actively. Electric Capital gathers its data from code repositories and code commits on open-source developer platform GitHub.
Starknet and zkSync have showcased growth in their total monthly active developer counts, providing a positive outlook for these layer-2 scaling solutions. Despite the overall decrease in developers across the industry, the focus on zero-knowledge rollups and zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) solutions has attracted developers to these platforms. The cyclic nature of the developer market reflects the impact of market volatility on developer activity. It remains to be seen how these scaling solutions will continue to evolve and attract developers in the future.