In the cryptocurrency ecosystem, a project’s development team holds the key to its success. Yes, we can talk about favorable market conditions, increasing rates of adoption, and strong user demand.
These factors, in association with underlying project technology, seem to dictate the short- and long-term success of a cryptocurrency project. But when the dust settles, what really seems to count in the developer-centric cryptocurrency world is “developer activity.”
Any blockchain project needs developers to survive and thrive. They are the ones who write the code that runs decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, and the blockchain’s main infrastructure. Even though a strong, active developer community is a necessary component, it is not a sufficient condition for a project to succeed. From a business strategy perspective, a project has more chance of succeeding when there is an engaged community of developers. By measuring the kind of and amount of work that gets done by a project’s developers, it is possible to gauge its potential.
Bearing this in mind, let us examine more closely the leading crypto undertakings that are exerting the most significant influence on GitHub, as measured by developer activity worth mentioning that has occurred over the last month.
Top Crypto Projects by Developer Activity
1. Dfinity ($ICP) Leading the charge in development activity over the past month is Dfinity’s Internet Computer ($ICP). The project has soared to the top, showing a marked increase in development activity. Dfinity aims to revolutionize how the internet functions by creating a decentralized cloud platform. The active contributions from developers indicate a strong and innovative foundation, with ongoing work to improve the project’s capabilities. Dfinity’s ranking as the top project for development activity highlights its growing influence in the blockchain and decentralized internet space.
2. Chainlink ($LINK)
Just behind Dfinity, Chainlink ($LINK) keeps a solid hold as a front-runner in the crypto development arena. Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network is a vital piece of infrastructure for the larger blockchain ecosystem. Developers keep moving forward with upgrades that make their integration with smart contracts across many blockchains even better. This project has such importance in the DeFi ecosystem and is so central to the continued evolution of smart contracts that it’s hard to see how it wouldn’t keep placing highly in any such rankings.
3. StarkNet ($STRK)
StarkNet, Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solution, has received a lot of attention in the past month and now sits in third place on our list. With Ethereum’s persistent scalability problems, StarkNet offers an excellent potential solution, enabling much greater throughput and significantly reduced transaction costs—without problematizing security. Its developers appear to be concentrating their energies on writing better zero-knowledge rollup (ZK-rollup) code, helping StarkNet itself to scale efficiently. From a developer’s activity standpoint, StarkNet looks like a very serious contender in the camp of Ethereum’s future scalability solutions.
4. Optimism (OP)
Optimism (OP), another prominent Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, saw a dip in development activity this month, moving down the ranks. Although its ranking has decreased slightly, the project still plays a significant role in improving Ethereum’s scalability through optimistic rollups. Optimism’s developers continue to enhance its platform, which reduces Ethereum’s transaction fees and boosts processing speeds. Despite its recent drop, Optimism remains a strong project with potential for future growth and innovation.
5. Cardano ($ADA)
A front-runner once in blockchain development, Cardano ($ADA) has seen a decline in developer activity that has translated into a drop in the rankings this month. While the project’s academic, research-driven approach to blockchain technology wins it significant applause, the development pace has come in for some criticism. Slow and steady is the way some see its development progress, but it lags behind a few competitors that seem to be advancing to greater heights more quickly. Carrying on tonight, the project does pursue some praiseworthy goals. Future efficiency in dApp operation and some greater adoption of dApps in the ecosystem are two that’s wished for. To get there, an increased pace in the delivery of dApp developments and increased efficiency in those dApps might help.
6. iExec ($RLC)
iExec ($RLC), a decentralized cloud computing network, has seen a surge in developer activity, moving up the rankings in the last 30 days. The project allows users to access computing power in a decentralized manner and provides a variety of services across enterprises, developers, and researchers. And as real-world blockchain applications continue to multiply, iExec’s decentralized cloud computing offers a more pertinent solution today than even just a few months ago.
7. Ethereum ($ETH)
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum ($ETH) maintains a high level of developer activity. As the primary smart contract platform, it remains a foundational pillar in the blockchain space. Recent work focuses on its transition to Ethereum 2.0, including the shift to proof-of-stake consensus and scalability improvements. Ongoing development is critical not only for the network but for the entire crypto ecosystem as it continues to evolve and accommodate more complex decentralized applications.
8. Avalanche ($AVAX)
Avalanche ($AVAX) has experienced a significant upsurge in developer engagement and moved up in the rankings this month. The blockchain platform, which is meant to have high throughput and low latency, could be a good choice for developers who want to build decentralized applications or enterprise solutions. Avalanche’s ability to support customizable blockchains—”subnets,” in Avalanche lingo—means it can likely find a place in a number of interesting applications across different sectors.
9. Polkadot ($DOT) & Kusama ($KSM)
Polkadot ($DOT) and Kusama ($KSM) are two closely related projects that focus on multi-chain interoperability. Both of these projects have dropped in the rankings because their developer activity has declined. Yet, the technology that underpins these networks allows for more types of data and assets to be moved across different kinds of chains than any other network. So if you’re worried about the downward slide of these two projects in the rankings, you shouldn’t be.
🧑💻 Here are crypto's top overall coins by notable development activity the past 30 days. Directional indicators represent each project's ranking rise or fall since last month:
➡️ 1) @dfinity $ICP 🥇
➡️ 2) @chainlink $LINK 🥈
📈 3) @starknet $STRK 🥉
📉 4) @optimism $OP
📉 5)… pic.twitter.com/wCk80VfRW8— Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 1, 2025
Conclusion: Developer Activity Reflects Future Success
Measuring developer activity is an extremely important and effective way to gauge the future potential of any crypto project. A developer community that is very active almost always leads to a project that is getting ongoing improvements and new innovations, which are key to the long-term success of any project. When I look at the projects Dfinity, Chainlink, and StarkNet, I see something in common: all three are getting ongoing, very active development, which is the first, key ingredient in creating the kinds of robust, scalable solutions that can really thrive in the fast-changing blockchain landscape.
While blockchain technology is busy turning industries upside down, the projects that are most likely to gain and hold market share are the ones with vibrant development teams. In the cryptocurrency space, keeping a close watch on the development activity of various projects can help reveal which are ascendant and which have plateaued. Here, we’ve ranked—and color-coded—30 blockchain projects based on their development activity over the last month.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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