The brainpower behind Ethereum development skyrocketed by over 2,100% during the past five years, flashing a positive sign for the world’s second-largest blockchain network.

The researchers behind the Ethereum network grew from just around 25 in the first quarter of 2019 to a peak of around 550 in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 2,100% increase.

The promising development was shared in an Aug. 29 X post by Emre Caliskan, an engineer at Electric Capital.

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Ethereum number of researchers. Source: Emre

Ethereum’s innovation pace is directly correlated to the number of individual researchers contributing to the protocol. While the number of researchers saw a minor decline to around 450 developers in the second quarter of 2024, the brainpower remains strong behind the world’s first smart contract network.

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Ethereum is the leading blockchain by monthly active developers

Ethereum remains the leading blockchain in terms of monthly active developers, with a total of 2,788 full-time developers and over 8.865 total developers as of July 1, according to Developer Report data .

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Top blockchains by developer count. Source: Developer Report

Coinbase’s Base blockchain is in second place, with 889 full-time developers and 3,991 total developers.

However, Ethereum saw a 10% decline in yearly developers, while Base saw a 14% increase.

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Contract Deployers per blockchain. Source: Token Terminal

In terms of contract deployers, who are developers creating and testing smart contracts, Ethereum is only in sixth place, with 127,702 monthly contract deployers, while Base is in first place, with over 862,000 contract deployers, according to Token Terminal data .

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Ether price rallied 1,200% during the past 5 years, but ETH subdued under critical $2.7k

Ether ( ETH ) price saw an over 1,200% increase during the past five years, while the brainpower behind the network grew by 2,100%.

Ether price rallied over 1,245% in the past five years, from $168 on Aug. 30, 2019, to trade above $2,509, as of 11:51 am UTC, Aug. 31, according to Coinbase data .

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ETH/USD, 5-year chart. Source: TradingView

This means that a $1,000 investment into Ether five years ago would be worth over $14,900 at today’s valuation.

Despite its bullish long-term momentum, Ether’s price remains trapped under the crucial $2,700 resistance, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at Nansen.

The analyst told Cointelegraph:

“2.7k is the next resistance level for ETH, and there is not enough evidence that it is broken yet. Because price did not hold above this resistance for long enough and with enough volume.”
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ETH/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Nansen

Other analysts are eying an Ether rally to above $3,000 , but it could take until October to see a bullish breakout.


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