# Developers Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Developers", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

Ripple Launches XRPL AI Starter Kit For XRP And RLUSD Agent Payments

Ripple has released the XRPL AI Starter Kit, a Phase 1 developer toolkit aimed at enabling AI agents to make payments using XRP and its stablecoin RLUSD on the XRP Ledger. The kit supports the x402 payment standard and includes a server to connect AI systems like Claude directly to XRPL documentation. This move provides XRP with a new utility narrative focused on autonomous, machine-to-machine transactions, where agents could pay for APIs and services without manual approval for each micro-payment. For the XRP community, it represents a push into tangible payment infrastructure beyond speculation. The announcement is a concrete product update within a broader crypto shift towards valuing infrastructure and utility alongside price. The next steps involve monitoring developer adoption, documentation updates, and testnet activity. The story is based on Ripple's official blog.

bitcoinist7h ago

Ripple Launches XRPL AI Starter Kit For XRP And RLUSD Agent Payments

bitcoinist7h ago

Maelstrom’s Bitcoin Grants Hit 20 Months — 5 Developers, 4 Active, Here’s What They’ve Accomplished

Maelstrom, the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, has published the first annual report for its Bitcoin Grant Program. Over a 20-month period beginning in October 2024, the program has supported five developers, with four currently active. They are paid monthly in Bitcoin, with grants capped at $400,000 per developer annually. Two developers focus on Bitcoin Core: **Rkrux** is a prolific code reviewer, working on MuSig2 and wallet descriptor modernization. **Stratospher** focuses on critical consensus and peer-to-peer network code, fixing bugs that could cause network splits. Two others advance Bitcoin privacy: **Benalleng** develops Payjoin, a protocol that breaks common surveillance heuristics, with integrations in several wallets. **Macgyver** works on Silent Payments, enabling reusable static addresses without on-chain reuse, driving wallet adoption and standardization. The program funds only open-source Bitcoin protocol work with no commercial ties. The report highlights this model as a direct, transparent way for successful industry participants to fund the essential, unglamorous development underpinning Bitcoin's security and privacy.

bitcoinist06/10 13:32

Maelstrom’s Bitcoin Grants Hit 20 Months — 5 Developers, 4 Active, Here’s What They’ve Accomplished

bitcoinist06/10 13:32

IOSG | After the Halving of Developer Count: Crypto Isn't Dead, It's Just Handing Over Talent to AI

IOSG Report: Crypto's Developer Exodus Masks a "Talent Deleveraging" and Migration to AI The number of monthly active crypto developers on GitHub has roughly halved from its 2022 peak to around 23,000. This decline is not a sign of industry collapse but a "talent deleveraging." The exodus consists largely of newcomers who entered during the bull market, while the cohort of established developers (2+ years of experience) has grown to a record high, now contributing about 70% of the code. These core builders are consolidating in ecosystems with real users and activity, like Bitcoin and Solana. The crypto industry has forged a unique skill set: building operational, trusted systems from scratch in environments with no external authority, near-zero tolerance for error, and missing rules. This involves creating trust through pure code/mechanisms and making judgments under profound technical and economic uncertainty. This capability is finding new, high-value applications in the AI era, which faces structurally similar problems: trust in opaque autonomous systems, a lack of governance frameworks, and coordination among self-interested AI agents. Key migration patterns include: 1. **Direct Hardware/Infrastructure Translation:** Projects like CoreWeave pivoted from GPU mining to AI compute supply. 2. **Mechanism Design & Trust Engineering:** Crypto's experience in decentralized coordination and incentive design (e.g., via tokenomics, staking/slashing) is being applied to critical AI challenges: * **Compute Aggregation & Verification:** Solving trust and efficiency problems in decentralized GPU networks (e.g., Hyperbolic). * **AI Agent Governance:** Using cryptoeconomic mechanisms to align the behavior of multiple autonomous AI agents (e.g., EigenLayer's approach). * **Autonomous Agent Payments:** Leveraging stablecoins and programmable money for fast, permissionless micro-transactions between AI agents (e.g., x402 protocol). The builder's role is evolving from "writing smart contracts" to "designing trust mechanisms for autonomous AI systems." This convergence is reflected in hiring trends at major firms and significant capital allocation from top venture funds like Paradigm and a16z into the crypto-AI intersection. While regional approaches differ—with the US focusing more on foundational protocol innovation and Asia on application-layer integration—the core thesis remains: the systemic skills honed in crypto's trustless environments are becoming a scarce and critical asset for scaling AI.

marsbit05/20 09:19

IOSG | After the Halving of Developer Count: Crypto Isn't Dead, It's Just Handing Over Talent to AI

marsbit05/20 09:19

Core Members of Ethereum Foundation Stage Mass Exodus: 'Decentralization' or 'Dissolution'?

In April-May 2026, at least six core members, including key engineers and researchers, departed from the Ethereum Foundation (EF). This followed the earlier exit of co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak. High-profile leavers included long-time contributors from the Protocol Cluster and the "Trillion Dollar Security Initiative." EF framed the departures as part of its "Mandate" restructuring aimed at reducing its central role. However, community concerns grew as core developer numbers fell from 225 in May 2025 to 169 in May 2026, though a recent one-month rebound of 63% was noted. ETH holdings in the EF treasury also decreased. Despite the leadership flux, Ethereum's overall developer activity remains substantial, with nearly 10,000 active ecosystem developers. The departures have sparked discussions about EF's future direction, coordination, and the practical meaning of decentralization for Ethereum, which faces challenges like price declines and project security concerns while aspiring to be a global financial infrastructure layer.

marsbit05/20 03:48

Core Members of Ethereum Foundation Stage Mass Exodus: 'Decentralization' or 'Dissolution'?

marsbit05/20 03:48

IOSG: After the Number of Developers Halved, Crypto Did Not Die

The crypto development community has undergone a significant transformation, with monthly active developers on GitHub halving from 45K in 2022 to approximately 23K by 2026. This decline is largely attributed to the departure of newcomers, whose roles were often tied to market-driven hype cycles like NFTs and forked DeFi protocols, leading to a 52% churn rate among those with less than a year of experience. However, the core of the industry has strengthened. Established developers with over two years of experience have reached a record high, contributing about 70% of the code. They are consolidating around ecosystems with genuine users and revenue, such as Bitcoin and Solana, while moving away from narrative-driven projects. The talent shift represents a "deleveraging" and an increase in core density. This core group has developed a unique skillset by operating in an environment of "code is law," with zero tolerance for error and no external recourse. They have learned to build trust and functional systems from the ground up without central authorities, as demonstrated by protocols like Uniswap and MakerDAO. These capabilities are now being repriced and leveraged in the AI era. The structural challenges of AI scaling—such as trust, coordination, and verification—mirror those long addressed in crypto. Examples include CoreWeave pivoting from GPU mining to AI compute, OpenSea's founder applying NFT market logic to AI model routing with OpenRouter, and projects like NEAR and Catena Labs transitioning crypto-native architectural and financial insights into AI infrastructure and agent banking. Key areas where crypto-bred skills are directly applicable to AI include: 1. **Compute Aggregation & Optimization**: Using token incentives and cryptographic verification (e.g., Proof of Sampling & Privacy) to create trusted, decentralized GPU networks, as seen with Hyperbolic. 2. **AI Governance & Incentive Design**: Applying economic mechanism design from DAOs and tokenomics to align the goals of multiple, fast-acting AI agents, a direction explored by EigenLayer's EigenCloud. 3. **AI Agent Autonomous Payments**: Leveraging stablecoins and programmable, permissionless blockchains to enable the micro-transactions required for AI agent economies, exemplified by protocols like x402. The role of the crypto builder is evolving from writing smart contracts to designing trust mechanisms for autonomous AI systems. This convergence is reflected in hiring trends at major firms and significant capital allocation from funds like Paradigm and a16z crypto, which are investing at the intersection of crypto and AI. Regional differences exist, with the US favoring foundational protocol innovation and Asia focusing on compliant application-layer integration, but the underlying trend is clear. The industry's "deleveraging" has not signaled its demise but rather a maturation, positioning its core builders to solve critical trust and coordination problems in the age of AI.

marsbit05/19 09:28

IOSG: After the Number of Developers Halved, Crypto Did Not Die

marsbit05/19 09:28

After Developer Numbers Halved: Crypto Isn't Dead, It's Just Giving Up Talent to AI

The title "After a 50% Drop in Developer Count: Crypto Isn't Dead, It's Just Ceding Talent to AI" suggests a shift, not an end. The article analyzes GitHub data showing a significant drop in overall Crypto developer activity from a peak of 45K monthly active developers in 2022 to about 23K in 2026. However, this masks a deeper trend of "talent deleveraging." The exodus consists mainly of newcomers who entered during the bull market for hype-driven roles (e.g., NFT contracts, forked DeFi protocols), with over 50% of developers with less than one year of experience leaving. In contrast, established developers (2+ years of experience) have hit record highs, contributing roughly 70% of the code. They are consolidating in ecosystems with real users and revenue, like Bitcoin and Solana. These experienced builders possess unique skills forged in Crypto's "code is law" environment: the ability to build trust and functional systems from scratch in the absence of external authority or rules, with zero tolerance for error. The article argues that AI's scaling faces structurally similar trust, coordination, and verification problems—particularly regarding compute aggregation, multi-agent incentive alignment, and autonomous payments. Crypto builders are already applying these skills in AI. Examples include CoreWeave (mining to AI compute), OpenRouter (NFT marketplace routing to AI model routing), and projects like Hyperbolic (using crypto-native mechanisms for decentralized compute verification) and EigenLayer (applying restaking logic to AI agent governance). Stablecoin infrastructure is becoming critical for AI agent micro-payments (e.g., x402 protocol). The role of these builders is evolving from writing smart contracts to "designing trusted mechanisms for autonomous AI systems." This shift is reflected in new hiring trends at major exchanges and significant venture capital flowing into the crypto-AI convergence (e.g., funds from Paradigm, Haun Ventures). The article concludes that while developer numbers have halved, the core density of talent has increased, and their uniquely cultivated skills are finding a new, larger stage in the AI era.

marsbit05/18 13:41

After Developer Numbers Halved: Crypto Isn't Dead, It's Just Giving Up Talent to AI

marsbit05/18 13:41

After the Developer Count Halved: Crypto Is Not Dead, It's Just Ceding Talent to AI

Following a significant decline in the total number of open-source crypto developers, from a peak of 45K in 2022 to approximately 23K by 2026, this article argues the industry is undergoing a "talent deleveraging" rather than a collapse. The exodus primarily consists of newcomers who entered during the bull market, while the core of experienced developers (2+ years) has grown to a record high, contributing around 70% of code. These established builders are concentrating in ecosystems with real users and revenue, like Bitcoin and Solana. The article posits that crypto has cultivated a unique skill set in building trustless, autonomous systems with near-zero tolerance for error—a capability now finding high demand in the AI era. As AI scales, it faces structural gaps in decentralized compute aggregation, multi-agent coordination/incentive alignment, and autonomous payment infrastructure. Crypto builders are transitioning their expertise to address these exact problems. Examples include CoreWeave (mining to AI compute), Hyperbolic (decentralized compute verification), EigenLayer (extending restaking mechanisms to AI agent governance), and the x402 protocol (enabling AI agent micro-payments via stablecoins). The role of the crypto builder is evolving from writing smart contracts to designing the rule-based, trust-minimized frameworks necessary for AI-native systems. Venture capital is increasingly funding this convergence, viewing it as a structural opportunity rather than a narrative shift. The core talent and systemic design principles from crypto are not disappearing but being re-priced and applied to the foundational challenges of scalable AI.

链捕手05/18 13:37

After the Developer Count Halved: Crypto Is Not Dead, It's Just Ceding Talent to AI

链捕手05/18 13:37

Some Issues Are Better Discussed in Person: Summer of Ethereum 2026 Is Here!

Summer of Ethereum 2026 is returning, focused on bringing crucial discussions about Ethereum's long-term development to in-person meetups across multiple cities. Organized by LXDAO and ETHPanda, the initiative aims to move beyond online discourse and event scheduling by addressing Ethereum's systemic challenges through real-world connections. The core question this year is the value of offline gatherings for the Ethereum community. While online discussions on topics like the roadmap, L2, account abstraction, and governance are abundant, they often lack depth and alignment. The goal is to bring these fragmented, complex issues—such as UX, developer tools, public goods, and local community building—into shared physical spaces to foster deeper understanding, trust, and actionable collaboration. The program will not follow a rigid format but will adapt to each city's context, potentially including talks, panels, workshops, and community gatherings. Key discussion areas include protocol evolution, Ethereum UX/account abstraction, real-world applications, developer tools, and sustainable community governance. The aim is for each event to leave behind clearer problems, stronger personal connections, and tangible follow-up actions. The call is open to developers, researchers, students, community members, local organizers, projects, and media partners. Participation is encouraged whether one brings deep expertise or just genuine curiosity. For Ethereum's ecosystem—built on principles of open networks and long-term collaboration—this "non-negotiable" effort seeks to translate belief into concrete, local cooperation. The ultimate hope is that these meetings will seed lasting partnerships and turn abstract challenges into progress, one city at a time. All event details and schedules will be updated on the Luma Calendar.

marsbit05/15 11:22

Some Issues Are Better Discussed in Person: Summer of Ethereum 2026 Is Here!

marsbit05/15 11:22

Solana Q1 Report: Revenue Plunges 68% Year-on-Year, Developers Decrease by 30%

Solana Q1 2026 Report: Key Metrics Show Significant Decline Amid Market Reset Solana experienced a substantial downturn in Q1 2026, with key performance indicators reflecting a broader market cooling. Total network revenue (REV) fell to $89.9 million, down 68% year-over-year (YoY) and 1.4% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). This decline was driven by reduced speculative activity, which had previously fueled the network during the 2024/2025 bull market. Key revenue components saw mixed results: base fees dropped 8.7% QoQ, Jito tips (MEV) fell 19.7%, priority fees rose 23%, and vote fees declined 44.5%. The annualized real yield for stakers was just 0.17%, down 67% YoY. Network GDP, generated by top applications, fell 7% QoQ to $451 million. Pump Fun emerged as a standout, generating $103 million (up 3% QoQ), surpassing Solana's L1 revenue. However, daily active addresses averaged 2.4 million, down 4.8% YoY. Stablecoin supply on Solana reached $15.9 billion, down 2.7% QoQ but up 18% YoY. USDC and USDT remained dominant. DEX volumes averaged $3.2 billion daily, with private DEXs now accounting for 60% of all volume. The network's net dilution rate was 4.38%, while the cost to produce $1 of REV was $8.10, up 93% YoY. The number of new tokens created on launchpads grew 42% QoQ to 3 million, with Pump Fun dominating 85% of this market. Despite the downturn, Solana's core strengths remain: its position as a hub for retail trading apps, potential in perpetual markets, and growing use in stablecoin-based fintech applications, particularly in Latin America. However, developer activity declined 32% YoY, slightly worse than Ethereum's 29% drop. The network must now focus on attracting traditional finance, competing in perpetual markets, and sustaining developer ecosystem growth to drive the next expansion cycle.

marsbit04/20 10:42

Solana Q1 Report: Revenue Plunges 68% Year-on-Year, Developers Decrease by 30%

marsbit04/20 10:42

Behind the MiniMax 'Pseudo-Open Source' Controversy: Has Yan Junjie's Ideal Succumbed to Capital Anxiety?

The article discusses the controversy surrounding MiniMax's "pseudo-open-source" release of its flagship M2.7 model. Initially presented as open-source, the model was later released under a "Modified-MIT" license that restricts commercial use without written permission, sparking backlash from the developer community. This move is seen as a departure from true open-source principles and reflects the tension between technological idealism and commercial pressures. MiniMax, which recently went public, faces significant financial challenges, with substantial losses despite growing revenues. The company’s decision to limit commercial use is interpreted as an effort to protect its revenue streams and control how its models are deployed, especially after instances of third-party misuse affected its reputation. The incident highlights a broader industry trend where "open-weight" models are increasingly distinguished from fully open-source ones, raising concerns about trust and legal certainty for developers and enterprises. The author concludes that MiniMax’s shift represents a pragmatic, if controversial, business strategy aimed at ensuring profitability, even at the cost of community trust.

marsbit04/16 11:01

Behind the MiniMax 'Pseudo-Open Source' Controversy: Has Yan Junjie's Ideal Succumbed to Capital Anxiety?

marsbit04/16 11:01

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