Santiment Reports Increased Developer Activity on Major Blockchains Amid Market Slump

Amid a notable downturn in the digital asset markets, blockchain developer activity has continued to rise, defying concerns that the ‘crypto market is dead.’

A recent report from Santiment highlights growth in development efforts across the top ten crypto ecosystems, with increases ranging from 11% to 26% in the past month.

Increased Developer Activity

According to analysis from the blockchain analytics firm, the Harmony network recorded the highest increase in development activity, jumping by 26%, with a 4.7% rise in active contributors. Gnosis followed closely with a 25% surge, although it was the only blockchain to report a drop of 2.2% in contributors.

Avalanche and Arbitrum also experienced gains, with activity rising 23% and 20%, respectively. Despite being hit the most by the recent marketwide downturn, the Ethereum network saw a 13% jump in development events and a 1.9% rise in active contributors.

The BNB Chain ecosystem recorded a 17% increase in developer activity, while Polygon and Solana, two of the most actively used blockchain networks, saw engagement grow by 19% and 17%, respectively. Meanwhile, Cosmos had a 9% rise in efforts, with a notable 2.8% uptick in the number of contributors.

Crypto Market Downtown

These figures come against a backdrop of a declining crypto market. CoinGecko data shows that the total market capitalization has crashed by almost 10% over the past 24 hours to $2.84 trillion.

Investor sentiment has also taken a hit, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index plunging from 49 to 10 at one point, a shift from “neutral” to “extreme fear.”

BTC is trading at $83,833 after an 8.9% decline, with its market cap falling from $1.85 trillion to $1.66 trillion. ETH has been hit even harder, tumbling 10.9% to $2,091, its lowest price in 16 months. Analysts warn the token could retreat to $1,200, revisiting bear market lows from late 2022.

Several altcoins also dipped steeply following a brief Trump-driven rally over the weekend. At the time of writing, XRP had dropped 8.5% to $2.36, SOL had fallen 14.7% to $136.4, and ADA had taken the hardest hit, plunging 15.6% to $0.804. The rally had been caused by President Donald Trump’s announcement that a proposed U.S. crypto strategic reserve could include these assets.

However, the market reacted negatively to Trump’s confirmation that new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will take effect Wednesday, along with plans to double tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%.