2022 may not have been a great year for the crypto industry, with scandals and bankruptcies becoming order-of-the-day issues and the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum suffering the consequences of a new market downturn. But it was quite the opposite for blockchain and the developers that work hard to create, maintain and advance this innovative technology. For them, these past years have marked the beginning of a period of prosperity that is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.
Success in the crypto space is often measured by how much traders and investors win or lose over a certain period of time. It’s a race against the clock to find the coins with the highest return potential and buy them before everyone finds out about them and they become top-performing cryptocurrencies. Some have built massive fortunes by investing in crypto assets at the right moment, while others have seen all their funds being swept swiftly after making one bad investment decision.
But behind all the investment drama taking place in the crypto space, there’s another category of stakeholders that play a key role in the creation and evolution of the sector, although they don’t usually make the headlines or talk about their achievements publicly. They’re the blockchain developers – the unsung heroes and the real winners of this nascent industry.
Thriving amidst chaos
The cryptocurrency industry was hit hard by the latest crypto winter. The record highs in U.S. inflation rates followed by the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes triggered a chain reaction that led to the decline in the value of crypto assets and a shrinkage of trading volume. As a result, many companies in the crypto sphere were forced to declare bankruptcy and shut down operations indefinitely, leaving a large number of people jobless. Figures show that in the brief time span of just one year, the total value of the crypto market plunged from approximately $2.23 trillion to only $832 million – the biggest decline in its history to date.
The only involved parties that were not affected by this resounding downfall were blockchain developers. On the contrary, blockchain devs seem to be doing better than ever as the demand for the skills they possess continues to increase. According to a DevSkiller report, demand for competent professionals in the field surged by 552% in 2022. The findings are supported by Electric Capital’s annual developer report which reveals that the activity of full-time blockchain developers reached a record high last year with over 23,000 professionals contributing to different crypto projects monthly.
Electric Capital also compared last year’s figures with those registered during the previous crypto winter of 2018 and the discrepancies are more than obvious, showing an increase of 297% in the number of monthly active blockchain developers working across various areas of the industry. So, these are great times to be a blockchain dev or start a career in this field.
Blockchain beyond crypto
It’s common knowledge that the crypto market has been traversing a difficult period lately. So, how is it possible that blockchain developers have been thriving in the context of plummeting crypto prices, company collapses, scandals and layoffs? A deeper analysis of the issue reveals there are various reasons for the increase in developer demand.
First of all, people need to realize that the crypto market is more than swinging token prices and investment trends. Volatility has always been part of the picture but it hasn’t stopped the industry from evolving and expanding. The people on the other side of the fence know that sudden price movements are perfectly normal for an asset class that is going through typical growing pains. As the market matures and the crypto ecosystem advances, it’s not all that surprising that knowledgeable blockchain professionals become more in demand.
Secondly, it’s not just the crypto market that supports this trend. Although crypto and digital payments are without a doubt the most popular applications of blockchain technology and many people equate them, blockchain use cases go far beyond the creation of digital assets. The idea of using a technology that offers transparency, decentralization and security appeals to a wide range of stakeholders in different areas of activity. Healthcare, logistics, transportation and financial services are just some of the sectors that have started implementing blockchain-based solutions.
Therefore, crypto companies are not the sole employers of blockchain devs. There are many firms out there that are looking to leverage the power of blockchain technology for different purposes and they could use skilled blockchain developers with industry experience in their team to help them achieve their goals. Microsoft is a prime example in this respect, with the launch of their Space and Time startup whose goal is to create a blockchain-powered decentralized data warehouse.
The benefits of becoming a blockchain developer
Given that blockchain development has become a flourishing sector in recent years, there are various reasons to pursue a career in this field.
For starters, the rapid growth of the blockchain ecosystem means there are more job opportunities than ever for both software developers looking to transition to the blockchain industry and those who want to start their professional journey in this domain. And since we’re talking about a relatively young area, it’s less likely for applicants to encounter tough competition in the job market.
With high demand also comes higher wages. Those who manage to acquire the right skills and gain experience as blockchain developers can land high-paying jobs without much effort. As long as the demand is higher than the supply, devs will enjoy higher-than-average salaries.
Last but not least, blockchain devs get to be a part of an exciting and innovative industry and contribute to the development of groundbreaking projects and cutting-edge solutions that can make a positive difference in the lives of many.
Whether the crypto winter is already gone or will linger a little bit longer, it doesn’t seem to matter much for the small but fortunate category of blockchain developers who continue to be in high demand these days. For them, the future looks as bright as ever and they have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
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