Ethereum and Solana dominate developer growth but…

What’s driving Ethereum and Solana’s developer dominance?

Data shows Ethereum leading with 16,181 new and 31,869 active developers, followed by Solana with 11,534 and 17,708, respectively.

How closely are ETH and SOL performing in the market?

Their price correlation sits at 0.96, signaling that investor sentiment and market flows are nearly identical across both ecosystems.

Ethereum and Solana continue to define the top tier of blockchain development in 2025, according to new data from the Ethereum Foundation. 

Together, they lead both new and active developer growth, showing the industry’s clear tilt toward ecosystems with deep liquidity, mature tooling, and growing market momentum.

Ethereum keeps its developer crown

From January to September 2025, Ethereum attracted 16,181 new developers, the highest among all networks. Solana followed with 11,534, while Bitcoin ranked third at 7,494. 

Source: X

When it comes to active developers—those contributing code regularly—Ethereum again leads with 31,869, nearly double the number of active developers on Solana, at 17,708.

For Ethereum, these figures include both Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, while Solana’s growth has been driven largely by its high-performance DeFi and consumer app activity. 

Together, they account for nearly half of all active blockchain developers worldwide, underscoring how innovation continues to cluster around the two networks.

Market trends show tight Ethereum–Solana correlation

The close relationship extends beyond code commits. Price data shows a correlation coefficient of 0.96 between Ethereum and Solana, meaning their market movements have been nearly identical in recent months.

Ethereum currently trades around $3,954, down 4.1% on the day but still up significantly from its mid-year lows. Solana was trading around $196, down by over 3% on the day.

Source: TradingView

The correlation suggests that investors treat both networks as leading risk assets in the broader crypto cycle, mirroring developer optimism with market alignment.

DeFi remains Ethereum’s fortress

Despite Solana’s developer surge and strong market correlation, Ethereum’s dominance in decentralized finance remains. 

According to DeFiLlama data, Ethereum commands 67.4% of total DeFi TVL (total value locked), dwarfing Solana’s 8.9% share.

Source: DefiLlama

The rest of the market remains fragmented, with BSC at 6.7%, Bitcoin at 6.3%, and Tron at 4.5%. Solana’s growing 9% slice, however, marks its highest TVL share since early 2022.

This is a sign that its developer momentum is gradually translating into real on-chain activity.

Outlook

Ethereum retains its structural dominance, but Solana is quickly catching up in developer energy and user adoption. 

With their prices moving almost in lockstep and ecosystems increasingly overlapping in DeFi and consumer apps, the ETH–SOL rivalry may define the next phase of blockchain growth more than ever.