Crypto in 2024: Electric Capital Report Reveals Global Growth & DeFi Trends

Electric Capital, an engineering-led global venture capital firm investing in early-stage crypto and frontier technology, has released its 2024 Developer Report, providing valuable insights into the crypto and blockchain landscape.

The report, based on an analysis of 902 million code commits across 1.7 million repositories, highlights the growing trend of interoperability and cross-chain development, with developers building apps that deliver value to users, attracting customers, and bringing in more developers.

It also paints a vibrant picture of the crypto landscape, marked by global expansion, the rise of new developer hubs, and groundbreaking innovations in DeFi, NFTs, and stablecoins.

Here are some key trends that shook the crypto world in 2024.

1. Crypto Goes Global: Asia Leads Developer Growth

Crypto development is no longer dominated by North America. Asia has emerged as the leading hub for Web3 crypto developers, accounting for 32% of global Web3 crypto developers.

This shift is largely attributed to the remarkable growth of the Web3 developer community in India, which has onboarded the most new Web3 crypto developers in 2024. India's rise to prominence in the crypto world has been steady and significant. In 2015, India was ranked 10th in terms of developer share. However, by 2024, it has climbed to the second position globally, demonstrating the country's growing influence in the Web3 and blockchain arena.

2. Ethereum Remains Dominant, But Challengers Emerge

Ethereum remains the top ecosystem for Web3 developers across all continents. However, Solana has gained significant traction, becoming the top ecosystem for new developers in 2024.

This marks the first time since 2016 that an ecosystem other than Ethereum has held this position, raising questions about whether there may be a power shift away from Ethereum in the future.

Solana's rise to prominence can be attributed to several factors, including its high transaction throughput, low fees, and active community. The platform has also significantly improved its stability and security, addressing earlier concerns that may have deterred developers.

In 2024, Solana saw an 83% year-over-year growth in its developer base, and this is further evidenced by the fact that Solana is the number two ecosystem for new developers on every continent.

3. The Rise of Multi-Chain Development

The report reveals a growing trend towards multi-chain development, with one in three Web3 crypto developers now contributing to projects across multiple blockchains.

In 2015, less than 10% of developers were involved in multi-chain development. However, by 2024, this figure has surged to 34%.

The appeal of multi-chain development can be attributed to the ability to play on the strengths of different blockchains, diversified risks, and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) network effects.

4. Zero-Knowledge Technology Gains Momentum

Zero-knowledge (ZK) technology is rapidly gaining traction in the crypto space, with on-chain developer activity showing promising growth. Deployments of ZK contracts have increased by 16 times since 2020, highlighting the potential of ZK to address scalability and privacy challenges in blockchain applications.

The report reveals that 2,054 monthly active Web3 developers are currently supporting ZK ecosystems. This growing developer interest is reflected in the on-chain activity, with the number of unique contracts using ZK precompiles increasing from 47 in 2020 to 680 in 2024.

ZK technology offers several core benefits such as its ability to scale up a large number of transactions off-chain, and allowing verification to be done without revealing private information.

5. NFTs Evolve Beyond Art and Collectibles

The NFT landscape has expanded beyond art and collectibles, with the most minted NFTs in 2024 encompassing a wide range of use cases, including DeFi, reward tokens, credentials, identity, and gaming assets.

Key Trends in the NFT Landscape:

Minting and deployment activity: NFT deployment activity reached an all-time high in 2024, with over 130,000 deployments in November
Minting dominates: Minting volume, minting transactions, and active minting wallets reached all-time highs in 2024. This suggests that the primary focus in the NFT space is on the creation and distribution of new NFTs.
Low-gas chains lead: Base and Solana have emerged as the leading chains for low-fee NFT minting. Base accounts for 97% of NFT minting volume, while Solana leads in the number of minting wallets (57%) and minting transactions (64%)
Trading remains important: Despite the focus on minting, trading remains an important aspect of the NFT space, with over 300,000 wallets actively trading NFTs each month

6. DeFi Innovation: The Rise of Re-staking

The DeFi space has witnessed the emergence of re-staking as a major trend, with over $30 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL) added to the Ethereum mainnet, making it the fourth largest DeFi sector. This surge in popularity is largely attributed to the rise of Liquid Re-staking Tokens (LRTs), which have grown to over 3.5 million ETH in 2024. LRTs are used as productive assets in DeFi, with 46% of their supply utilised in various DeFi activities.

EigenLayer, the pioneer of the re-staking sector, has seen remarkable growth in its developer base, more than doubling in 2024.

7. Stablecoin Usage Reaches New Heights

Stablecoins have seen a surge in usage, with a total circulating supply of $196 billion and $81 billion in daily transaction volume.

Its ever-growing adoption and usage underscore its position as a 'safe-haven' amidst the inherent volatility of non-stablecoins in the crypto market. Stablecoins are also popular for their use in cross-border payments.

According to the report, Tether (USDT) is the most widely used stablecoin, accounting for 72% of the total stablecoin market share. USD Coin (USDC) comes in at second, with a market share of 20%.

Stablecoins are held by major institutions, including those holding US treasuries. Fiat-backed stablecoins hold more US treasuries than some countries, demonstrating their growing acceptance in traditional finance.

8. Bitcoin ETFs: A Record-Breaking Success

Bitcoin ETFs have experienced phenomenal success, ranking among the most successful ETF launches in history. The top 10 Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $50 billion in cumulative inflows, with even Web2 giants in the investment, banking, and tech space recognising Bitcoin as an investable asset.

Notably, the majority of Bitcoin ETF inflows are driven by retail investors, who hold 79% of Bitcoin ETFs, while institutions hold 21%.

Despite the lower percentage, institutional adoption of Bitcoin ETFs is also accelerating at a record pace. In their first three quarters after launch, Bitcoin ETFs outperformed other top-performing ETFs in both institutional AUM and the number of institutional holders.

The rise of Bitcoin ETFs following their approval by the SEC was a watershed moment for the crypto industry, and it paved the way for Ethereum ETFs' eventual approval. Altcoin ETFs such as Solana and Ripple are widely tipped to be next in line.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Based on the trends identified in the report, we can expect to see continued growth and innovation in the crypto space in 2025, with Web3 and AI integrations. Key areas to watch include the expansion of multi-chain development, the further adoption of ZK technology, and the exploration of new use cases for NFTs and DeFi — potentially with AI in Web3. The success of Bitcoin ETFs may also pave the way for the launch of ETFs for other cryptocurrencies, further bridging the gap between traditional finance and the crypto world.

The Electric Capital Developer Report 2024 could give us a crystal ball as to what to expect as we move into 2025. The trends identified in the report will likely continue to impact blockchain, Web3, and AI technologies, as well as industries and economies worldwide.

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*Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other form of professional advice. aelf makes no guarantees or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information on this blog. You should not make any investment decisions based solely on the information provided on this blog. You should always consult with a qualified financial or legal advisor before making any investment decisions.

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Tool/Platform	What's it about
ChainGPT	An AI-powered assistant for the blockchain and crypto industry, specializing in content creation, language translation, smart contract coding, and more.
aelf	A high-performance, customisable multi-chain blockchain framework with AI-powered smart contracts and a developer-friendly environment.
Quick Intel	An AI-powered crypto security platform that helps investors avoid scams, rug pulls, and honeypots by analysing smart contracts, social sentiment, and on-chain data.
Cogwise AI News Aggregator	An AI-powered news aggregator that analyses real-time news and global trends to predict market movements in the crypto market.
OpenAI Codex	An AI system that transforms natural language into code, automating code creation for smart contracts, blockchain applications, and other development tasks.
QnA3	An AI-powered Web3 knowledge hub that provides real-time information and insights on cryptocurrencies, blockchain projects, and the broader Web3 ecosystem, with unique Solana Actions integrations.
Fetch.ai	A platform that combines AI and blockchain to create autonomous economic agents (AEAs) for various applications, including supply chain optimisation and smart city management.
Octavia	A decentralised digital identity (DID) platform for creating and managing self-sovereign digital identities, empowering users to control their data and online presence.
TensorFlow	A versatile open-source machine learning framework used for building AI models that can analyse blockchain data, enhance security, and predict market trends.
Alethea	A platform that creates 'Intelligent NFTs' (iNFTs) with unique personalities and the ability to engage in conversations, powered by AI and blockchain technology.

Chain	URL	Explorer
AELF	https://aelf-test-node.aelf.io/	https://explorer-test.aelf.io/
tDVW	https://tdvw-test-node.aelf.io/	https://explorer-test-side02.aelf.io/

Feature	Description
Inheritance	ERC-404 inherits from the interfaces IERC-404, IERC721 Receiver, and IERC165, implementing functions specified in these interfaces, behaving as both ERC20 and ERC721.
Data Structures	Mappings track balances, allowances, approvals, and ownership of tokens. Double-ended queue stores ERC721 token IDs. Data for managing ownership and indices of ERC721 tokens.
Constructor	Initialises token name, symbol, decimals, and other necessary variables for ERC20 and ERC721 tokens.
Token Minting and Burning	_mintERC20 function for minting ERC20 tokens. _retrieveOrMintERC721 function for minting ERC721 tokens and retrieving from a bank. _withdrawAndStoreERC721 function for depositing ERC721 tokens into the bank.
Transfers	Functions for transferring ERC20 and ERC271 tokens between addresses. Distinguishes between token types based on ID. _transferERC20WithERC721 function handles transfers involving both types.
ERC20 and ERC721 Interactions	Approve function handles approvals for both token types. Functions like transferFrom, safeTransferFrom, and permit handle transfers and approvals.
EIP-2612 Support	Supports EIP-2612 permit functionality for ERC20 tokens.
Interface Compatibility	Implements necessary functions for ERC-404 and ERC165 interfaces, indicating compatibility with ERC20 and ERC721 standards.

Role	Max Number
BP	2N+1, N starts from 8 in 2022
Candidate node	5*(2N+1)
Voter	No limit

Benefits	Description
Makes smart contracts 'smarter'	AI-driven smart contracts can autonomously modify terms based on predefined conditions and real-time data input, ensuring that the contracts are not just automated but also intelligent and self-improving over time.
Levelled up data analysis	Data is the new oil, and AI is the machinery that refines it. It is possible for AI to reduce large-volume blockchain data analysis time by up to 90%.
Boosts security	Through machine learning models, AI can prevent frauds and detect security threats in real time. It can identify potential breaches, predict future threats, and adapt to evolving security measures.
Lowers carbon footprint	AI algorithms help optimise energy consumption in blockchain operations, given the flak drawn by activities like Bitcoin mining.

Electric Capital Crypto Developer Report 2024: Key Takeaways on Crypto and Blockchain