Crypto developer activity is the lowest it's been since 2018. This is probably the saddest chart in crypto, and also the one which most accurately depicts the current state of the industry. Even in the 2022 bear market, developers kept building. But what are the reasons for this? 1. The elephant in the room: AI is much more exciting, and talented developers see more opportunity harnessing their skills elsewhere • In 2017 and 2021, crypto was the new kid on the block - but the public excitement surrounding AI has comparatively trumped it 2. Although BTC prices are much higher, VC funding has significantly dried up since 2023, partly due to the valuation mis-match between private and public markets (which has triggered more conservative investment behaviour) 3. The technology probably hasn't advanced as fast as some would've hoped - we do have use cases which are proving to have strong PMF (i.e. stables & RWA) 4. Users don't really intrinsically value decentralisation - most people just want a good experience, so the appeal of building on crypto rails has slightly diminished All this being said, there are still a lot of really exciting verticals (like synergies with AI, stables, RWA), and clearly BTC is in the best spot it's ever been - but we need to accept that the industry has significantly shifted over the past couple of years - and the develop numbers reflect this.