AI Absorbs Crypto Talent: Developer Activity Plummets, GitHub Data Reveals

A significant shift is underway in the software development landscape, with artificial intelligence rapidly attracting talent away from blockchain ecosystems. New data from analytics platform Artemis reveals a dramatic decline in developer activity within crypto projects, even as overall GitHub usage continues to grow.

The Exodus from Blockchain

Weekly crypto code commits have fallen approximately 75% since early 2025, dropping from around 850,000 to just 210,000. The number of active developers has also decreased substantially, declining by 56% to approximately 4,600. This contraction stands in stark contrast to the broader software ecosystem, where GitHub added roughly 36 million developers in 2025, bringing its total user base to over 180 million, with platform-wide commits increasing by around 25% year-over-year, according to GitHub’s Octoverse report.

AI’s Magnetic Pull

Much of this developer movement is flowing into the field of artificial intelligence. GitHub now hosts over 4.3 million AI-related repositories. Imports of large language model (LLM) software development kits have surged by 178% to more than 1.1 million over the past year, and generative AI projects now attract over 1 million monthly contributors. The growth extends to tools commonly used in machine learning, with Jupyter Notebook repositories increasing by 75% and Dockerfile repositories for AI applications jumping by 120%.

Programming Language Shifts

The rise of AI is also influencing programming language preferences. TypeScript, a language widely used in modern web development and AI tools, has overtaken Python and JavaScript to become GitHub’s most-used language, gaining over 1 million contributors in a single year.

Uneven Impact Across Crypto Chains

The decline in developer activity isn’t uniform across all blockchain projects. Ethereum has seen a 34% decrease in weekly active developers, falling to 2,811. Solana experienced a 40% drop to 942 developers, while Base, a Coinbase-incubated Layer 2, lost 52% of its developers, leaving 378 active contributors. Newer chains that gained traction during the 2024 bull market have been particularly affected, with Aptos losing around 60% of its developers, BNB Chain commits plummeting 85%, and Celo falling 52%.

Wallet Infrastructure as a Bright Spot

The only area within crypto still experiencing growth is wallet infrastructure, which has seen a 6% increase to 308 weekly active developers.

Consolidation, Not Collapse?

Despite the overall decline, some indicators suggest the crypto ecosystem may be consolidating rather than collapsing. Electric Capital’s annual developer report indicates a peak of roughly 31,000 monthly active developers in 2022, falling to around 23,600 in 2024, with further declines projected to around 18,000 by mid-2025. Developers with more than two years of experience now account for approximately 70% of all commits, suggesting a greater concentration of experienced contributors.

The Changing Composition of the Crypto Workforce

The exodus is primarily among part-time contributors and newcomers with less than 12 months of experience, a group that has declined by 58% in one tracking period. Developers with more than two years of tenure have increased by 27% year over year.

Future Outlook

Historically, crypto development has followed market cycles, and activity could rebound with another bull market. However, the emergence of generative AI as a rapidly expanding field with substantial venture funding and immediate commercial demand presents a significant challenge. It remains to be seen whether this cycle’s talent drain will prove more difficult to reverse.