Developers Are Leaving the United States and Europe for Asia

In the wake of Operation Chokepoint 2.0, crypto developer share in North America continues to fall. Asia is now the number one location for blockchain talent.

The recent report from Electric Capital shows North America’s steady decline in terms of crypto developer market share, to about 23% in 2024, compared with nearly 25% last year and roughly 27% in 2022. North America had 45% of developer share in 2015, when the data set started.

Meanwhile, Asia’s lead widened in 2024 after edging out Europe for the leading spot last year, now commanding just under a 35% share.

While the market belonged to North America back in 2015, Europe has been in control of the global crypto developer market share since 2017. Asia’s developer share has slowly increased over the last nine years and is now the dominant force in the market.

U.S. Government Forces Out Developers

The United States remains the leading country for crypto developers, but the nation's market share is on a steady decline as regulators continue to crack down on the industry.

Analysts such as Nic Carter have been pointing the finger at the Biden administration’s “sinister” efforts to squash the industry, in a movement dubbed Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

Operation Chokepoint 2.0 refers to an effort to choke out the crypto industry within the United States. The shutdowns of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank in 2023 remain Carter’s primary examples of Chokepoint 2.0.

In addition to this movement, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) is still coming after crypto companies in the United States despite its string of legal losses in such cases. The SEC continues its regulation by enforcement efforts, handing out Wells Notices to companies including Uniswap, Immutable and Crypto.com, which forces companies to take legal action against the agency in order to defend themselves.

Most recently gaming company Immutable received a Wells Notice on Oct 31. The company was quick to call out the SEC’s “spray and pray” approach.

As a result, the United States has had a 51% drop in developer share since 2015.

Sid Ramesh of Coinbase took to X to speak on Electric Capital’s findings and said “The future of crypto is getting built outside the US. Almost certain the adoption will outpace in other markets without a friendly regulatory regime.”