Developer activity has long been a useful indicator of a blockchain network’s health. It’s not the only metric, but it does reflect things like innovation, long-term sustainability, and how engaged the community is. According to data from Santiment, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon are leading in developer activity over the past 30 days. Other notable chains include Arbitrum, Optimism, Solana, Cosmos, Avalanche, Harmony, and Cardano.
Ethereum and BNB Chain Stay on Top
Ethereum remains the top blockchain by developer activity. Over the last thirty days, it recorded 263.3K events. That’s a 40.29% decline from the previous period, which might worry some, but the absolute numbers are still high. There were about 1.1K contributors, down 13.23%. BNB Chain came in second with 121.8K events, a 40.72% drop, and 603 contributors (down 17.62%). So both major chains are seeing a dip in activity, which could be a seasonal trend or broader market cooldown.
Polygon and Layer 2s Follow
Polygon took third place with 100.4K developer events, a 40.85% decline, and 452 contributors (down 16.14%). Then Arbitrum, a leading layer 2, had 79K events (down 45.22%) and 373 contributors (down 18.02%). Optimism wasn’t far behind with 78.4K events (down 45.3%) and 355 contributors (down 18.01%). These layer 2 solutions seem to be losing some steam, at least in terms of developer activity, though they remain popular.
Solana, despite its reputation for speed, recorded 77.4K events, a 32.14% drop. Interestingly, its contributor count rose 1.62% to 377. That’s a rare positive sign in this batch of mostly declining numbers. It suggests that while the total activity events fell, more unique developers might be sticking around.
Other Chains See Declines
Avalanche, Harmony, and Cardano round out the bottom of the top 10. Avalanche had 73.4K events (down 43.93%) with 320 contributors (down 15.34%). Harmony’s 62.9K events dropped 39.45%, and its 287 contributors fell 10.87%. Cardano posted 62.6K events (down 34.58%) and 295 contributors (down 11.41%). Cosmos was also in the list but not detailed here.
Overall, developer activity across these blockchains is mostly down, which could be part of a broader crypto winter effect. But the rankings haven’t changed much — Ethereum and BNB Chain still lead, and that stability might count for something.
