Find out about market size, growth, demographics, developers and technologies they use and what salaries can be expected in the space.
•UPDATED ON July 3, 2024
Marco Balmer
Author
Table of Contents
This article represents a compiled resource of statistics and facts on the blockchain and blockchain development sector.
It is designed to provide a one-stop shop for all the key data points covered by the most comprehensive and authoritative market research on the sector.
We have grouped the stats and facts into organised sections that cover common queries and areas of interest. Please refer to the contents section above to quickly navigate to the section you would expect the information and data points you are researching to be found.
Blockchain vs Web3 – what’s the difference and is there overlap?
Because blockchain technology is closely bound with Web3, the terms are often used interchangeably. However, as they are not the same thing, it is important to define both to clarify the difference.
Blockchain is the distributed, usually decentralised, digital ledger technology secured by cryptography first developed to enable Bitcoin – the original cryptocurrency. The technology is most associated with cryptocurrencies, but can be applied to a wide range of potential use cases for which a secure and immutable record of transactions is fundamental.
Blockchain use cases
Actual and potential use-cases for blockchain technology include, but are not limited to:
- Supply chain management
- Payments and other financial transactions
- Decentralised Finance (DeFi)
- Capital markets
- Intellectual property rights
- Medical records and healthcare
- Digital identification
Web3 is a loosely defined, catch-all term for what is seen as the next-generation internet – an online ecosystem of decentralised applications built on blockchain technology. This makes the Web3 technology inherently different compared to the two previous generations of the internet, in which applications and governance were highly centralized. Web3 enables services and applications without the need of a central authority.
Who invented Web3 as a term?
The term ‘Web3’ was first used in 2014 by Gavin Wood, the co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Polkadot – a blockchain platform and cryptocurrency (DOT), designed to facilitate interoperability between blockchains. He used the term to describe a future decentralised online ecosystem based on blockchain.
For the sake of clarity, we will refer here to the blockchain and blockchain development markets.
What is the value of the blockchain sector?
The global blockchain technology market size was estimated to be $11.14 billion in 2022 (Fortune Business Insights). Per Grand View Research, that number stands at $10.02 billion in 2022.
Statista has valued the Blockchain market at $5.85 billion in 2021.
CB Insights has estimated the global blockchain funding market as worth $9.2 billion in the first quarter of 2022. That dropped to $6.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022 – a 29% QoQ decrease.
The cryptocurrency bear market in 2022 played a role in lighter venture capital inflows to the sector.
How quickly is the blockchain sector growing?
The blockchain technology market is in a high growth stage.
Market intelligence company Fortune Business Insights projects growth from $17.57 billion in 2023 to $469.49 billion in 2030 – a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 59.9%.
Grand View Research projects a significantly higher CAGR of 87.7% from 2023 to 2030, from $17.46 billion in 2023 to $1431.54 billion in 2030. Similar numbers are forecast by Statista, which estimates a CAGR of 82.8% between 2021 and 2030 with the total market value reaching $1235.71 billion in 2030.
Projected annual growth rates vary depending on the market intelligence source. What all forecasts have in common, however, is the projection of significant growth in the sector and relative rise in the use of blockchain technology.
Blockchain technology’s varied use-cases means the demand for blockchain technology will grow across all major sectors and industries.
The blockchain market displaying a significant growth year by year.
Sources: Fortune Business Insights, Grand View Research, Statista, CB Insights
Which are the biggest blockchain companies?
Let us have a look at the 6 biggest blockchain companies that are publicly traded either in the U.S. or Canada, as of December 2022. Activities of these companies include financial technology (fintech), cryptocurrency mining, and manufacturers of blockchain technology.
- Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN): Revenue $5.1 billion, Market Cap $9.05 billion.
Type: Global provider of financial infrastructure. - Canaan Inc. (CAN): Revenue $947.5 million, Market Cap $420.9 million.
Type: China-based provider of high-performance computing solutions. - Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd (BRPHF): Revenue $457 million, Market Cap $310.4 million.
Type: Financial services such as trading, asset management, etc. - Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT): Revenue $289.9 million, Market Cap $694.3 million.
Type: Bitcoin mining. - Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI): Revenue $273.2 million, Market Cap $592.3 million
Type: Provider of financial infrastructure solutions and services. - Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (MARA): Revenue $149.6 million, Market Cap $551.5 million
Type: Cryptocurrency mining.
Source: Investopedia
How many people use blockchain technologies?
Due to the variety of use cases of blockchain technologies, it is difficult to state a definite number of blockchain technology users worldwide. Statistics usually refer to blockchain in connection with cryptocurrencies.
According to Zippia, more than 300 million people, which equals to 3.9% of the global population, make use of blockchain for cryptocurrency. There are 82 million blockchain wallet users worldwide. This number has shown a significant growth over the past few years, from just above 10 million users in 2016 to more than 80 million users in 2021.
Around 400,000 Bitcoin transactions are carried out worldwide every single day.
Where do people that use blockchain technologies come from?
The number of cryptocurrency users (and therefore crypto wallet users) varies widely depending on the continent, with Asia taking the lead at 160 million users and Oceania being at the bottom with a bare 1 million users.
Source: Zippia
However, in terms of total crypto value held by users, North America leads, accounting for 35% of the total value. Africa accounts for the least combined value – 3%, according to Marketsplash.
Cryptocurrency usage demographics in the U.S.
In line with the broader trend across technology sectors, there is a significant gender gap in blockchain usage and cryptocurrency activity in particular.
According to CNBC, more than twice as many men invest in cryptocurrency as women in the U.S. (16% of men vs. 7% of women). 11% of the U.S. population currently owns cryptocurrency.
The participation rate is also significantly higher among the younger population, with 15% of individuals in the U.S. aged 18 to 34 owning cryptocurrency, compared with 11% of those aged 35 to 64 and only 4% of those aged 65 and older.
In the U.S., people of all races are more or less equally likely to own cryptocurrencies. That is 11% of Whites, 11% of Blacks, 10% of Hispanics, 14% of Asians, and 13% of people of other races.
Blockchain developers – are their numbers growing and what technologies are they learning?
There is some encouraging news for employers of blockchain developers – their numbers are growing as software developers are learning blockchain development technologies and gaining experience on projects.
Globally, 27% – over a quarter – of all developers are either learning about or working on blockchain development projects.
Another 28% are interested in blockchain applications, dApps, and the technologies used to develop them.
Which countries and regions have the most blockchain developers?
In terms of absolute numbers of blockchain developers, the United States of America takes the lead with roughly 6500 developers currently working in the space. India is not far behind with roughly 5500 developers. Other countries are lagging behind as can be seen on the following figure.
Source: Dappros
At a regional level, North America (NA) and East Asia (EA), excluding Greater China, are the regions with the most blockchain development activity. That’s shown by the number of developers in these regions with either project experience or who are currently learning about the technologies – 15% (NA) and 12% (EA) respectively.
A lower (but still 3rd in the list globally) 10% of developers in Africa and the Middle East have direct blockchain development project experience. But this is the region with the highest percentage of developers currently learning the technologies, at 20%.
That suggests the region is likely to be active over coming years as a market for blockchain technology use cases, it has a recent tradition of rapid adoption of new technologies e.g. mobile banking, and a development hub.
Surprisingly, Eastern Europe and the former CIS has the lowest percentage of developers either working on blockchain projects or learning the technologies behind them at 3% and 10% respectively.
However, K&C has had significant success recruiting excellent blockchain developers in our core talent markets across Eastern Europe to work on mainly U.S.-based projects. Despite the relative high levels of blockchain development activity and Web3 skills learning among North America’s software developers, the market is still incredibly competitive.
Even if there are more blockchain developers in North America than elsewhere, the higher number of projects using the technology mean the talent deficit is also higher and recruitment hard.
How much experience do you need to become a blockchain developer?
The majority of those working on blockchain development projects have between 6-10 years of overall experience as software developers.
Which blockchain platform do developers use most?
54% of developers currently working on blockchain projects are working on the Ethereum blockchain.
The next most used is the Binance Smart chain, which 42% say they have developed.
In third spot is the IBM blockchain – 37%.
Source: State of the Developer Nation
What technologies and languages do blockchain developers use most?
Just as in traditional software development, there is a variety of programming languages based on different technologies used for blockchain programming. There are no relevant statistics to be found on the exact numbers and usage percentage of the programming languages. So, we provide you with a list of the 8 most prominent programming languages in the blockchain space. It is important to note that some of these languages are also used in traditional software development.
Solidity – It is considered to be the most used and stable blockchain programming language. It is primarily created in order to build smart contracts on the Ethereum chain running on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This programming language is influenced by JavaScript, C++ and Python.
Java – Also considered one of the more popular programming languages in the blockchain space. It lays access to a broad array of libraries. Well-established blockchains are built on Java such as IOTA, NEO and Hyperledger Fabric.
JavaScript – The primary application of this programming language in the blockchain space is app and game development.
Python – This programming language used in blockchain development is relatively easy to use with short codes. Python being an open-source language allows for choosing different resources and plug-ins.
C++ – Being a traditional programming language discovered in 1985, it is also widely used in the blockchain space. The development of Stellar, Ripple, Bitcoin, etc. is significantly based on this language.
Go – This programming language, also named Golang, is mainly used to create blockchain systems.
Ruby – The main features of this programming language include simplicity and productivity. Thus, it is developer-friendly and easy to handle. It also supports cross platforms.
Rust – A relatively new language for blockchain programming. It is applied to build secure, innovative, and immutable blockchain projects.
Sources: Simplilearn, 4irelabs
How many blockchain developers are there and what is their salary?
Developer salaries are generally relatively high in the Blockchain technology sector. There are several reasons that contribute to high salaries in the space:
- Web3 concepts are very different from the status quo.
- Few people are familiar with how blockchains work.
- Many smart contracts are written in exotic languages.
- The global pool of talent can’t keep up with demand.
Cryptocurrency bull runs have contributed to a sharp surge of blockchain developers in the space. After the 2017 bull run there were approximately 10,000 active blockchain developers. This number has surged to around 18,000 by December 2021 after the 2020/21 bull run.
In comparison, there are around 27 million active traditional software developers globally. 70% of the active blockchain developers have only been actively using the technology since 2021. 20% of new blockchain developers chose the Ethereum platform as their ecosystem.
According to Tokenized, blockchain developers can earn from $70,000 to well over $350,000 per year. Similar numbers are stated by Coursera, with a salary ranging from $45,000 to $354,000 per year.
K&C’s direct market experience as of 2023 suggest these approximate international salary ranges for senior blockchain developers with significant commercial project experience:
Europe – €12,000-€15,000 per month or €144,000-€180,000 p.a.
North America – $18,0000-$20,000 per month or $216,000-$240,000 p.a.
India – $7000-$9000 per month or $84,000-$108,000 p.a.
Blockchain development salaries are influenced mainly by two factors: the location of the developer and his/her seniority.
Average salaries are the highest in North America with an average of $120,000 annually and the lowest in Asia with an average of $50,000 per annum. Lead developers earn an average of $150,000 per year while Junior developers reach an average annual salary of $60,000, according to Tokenized.
Blockchain developer salaries by technology used, location and seniority.
The salary also depends on the specialization of an individual developer. Front-end blockchain developers can be said to have the easiest learning curve. They usually have to be able to read smart contracts in languages like Soliditybut not programme them themselves. And learn the Web3 libraries or frameworks like Web3.js and Ether.js that allow the front-end to communicate with the blockchain.
Blockchain developers can be split into 4 rough categories:
- Core Blockchain Developers: approx. $170,000 per year
- Blockchain or Smart Contract Developers: approx. $85,000 per year
- Full-Stack Web3 Developers: approx. $100,000 per year
- Front-End Web3 Developers: approx. $74,000 per year
