2026-01-16 19:21:30

A comparative look at development momentum across leading blockchains shows interesting patterns in ecosystem health. Ethereum, BNB Chain, Bitcoin, Solana, and Polygon continue to dominate in terms of developer commits and active contributors. But the race doesn't end there—emerging networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Sui are gaining ground rapidly, with strong contributor growth pushing innovation forward.

The data captures commits and active developer counts across major chains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Bitcoin, Solana, Polygon, Base, Filecoin, Arbitrum, Starknet, Avalanche, NEAR Protocol, Cardano, Optimism Mainnet, Sui, Internet Computer, Tron, Celo, Ton, Aptos, and Stellar. What stands out is how layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism are attracting developers faster than expected, while Bitcoin maintains steady contributor engagement despite being primarily a settlement layer. The competition for developer mindshare is reshaping blockchain prioritization in 2025.

ETH-0.49%

BNB0.52%

BTC-0.03%

SOL1.68%

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SatoshiHeir

· 5h ago

It should be pointed out that the argumentation framework of this data has a fundamental flaw—measuring ecosystem health solely by the number of commits is no different from judging Bitcoin's value by the number of transactions. An obvious fallacy. I can clearly see the false fire of the L2s. What do those numbers from Arbitrum really indicate? Where is the true technical essence? According to the spirit of the white paper, decentralization and node distribution are the core. You see the prosperity, but I smell the scent of retail investors. Why should Bitcoin compare its development speed to these second-layer networks? This is inherently a problem set by those who do not understand the deep meaning behind Satoshi Nakamoto's design. Undoubtedly, stability outweighs everything. Gentlemen, listen to me: this is the biggest cognitive trap of 2025.

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FUDwatcher

· 5h ago

Arbitrum and Optimism are indeed attracting developers at a rapid pace; the L2 track has really taken off... However, Ethereum's position remains incredibly solid, and it seems unlikely to be shaken in the short term.

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ser_ngmi

· 5h ago

Arbitrum and Optimism are competing to attract developers. It's quite interesting; it feels like the ecosystem war has just begun.

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MainnetDelayedAgain

· 5h ago

The influx of developers into L2 this time has exceeded expectations according to the database... How long has it been since everyone said "Ethereum ecosystem is saturated"? It is recommended to include this in the Guinness World Records. Bitcoin, as a settlement layer, can still maintain its contribution, which is quite interesting. Looking forward to the subsequent story.

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GasFeeCryBaby

· 5h ago

Arbitrum and Optimism are really impressive this time. The growth rate of L2 developers is a bit frightening... Who would have thought before?

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DarkPoolWatcher

· 5h ago

Arbitrum and Base these two little brothers suddenly taking off, they really have something going on --- L2 ecosystem is booming, developers are rushing here, Ethereum should be on alert --- Not gonna lie, Bitcoin is still pretty stable, the pure settlement layer hasn't fallen behind --- By 2025, developers' influence will need to be redistributed, this is a big signal --- Sui seems to be gaining more and more popularity lately, quietly rising --- The more intense the competition, the healthier the ecosystem, right? The era of multi-chain coexistence --- Can optimism and Arbitrum team up to compete with Ethereum? That's a bit of a stretch --- Where developers are heading can say everything, capital following the trend is useless without real builders

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OnchainDetectiveBing

· 6h ago

L2s are really bloodsucking crazily, Arbitrum and Optimism are gaining momentum faster than expected... By the way, Bitcoin is so low-key yet still able to hold onto developers, which is truly impressive.

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