Asia has become the top region for crypto and digital assets developers after increasing its share to 32%, up from 13% in less than a decade.
At the same time, the number of North American developers was cut in half, according to an X post by Maria Shen, a general partner at Electric Capita. Though more blockchain developers are moving beyond America’s borders, the U.S. still has the highest number of developers of any country.
The news comes amid increasing concerns about the lack of a crypto and digital asset framework in the United States. Without a consistent set of rules to follow, U.S. regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission have taken an enforcement-first approach to the crypto industry.
“The only thing that is clear is that nothing is clear,” said James Wester, Director of Cryptocurrency at Javelin Strategy & Research, in a conversation with PaymentsJournal. “It’s becoming tough for companies to build products in this space, because they don’t know they’re doing anything wrong until they get an enforcement notice. Imagine not knowing the speed limit until you get pulled over for a ticket. That’s the way things are shaping up right now.”
An Exodus of Crypto Talent
The U.S. regulatory uncertainty has led to concerns that there could be an exodus of crypto talent to other regions of the world. The European Union will roll out its comprehensive crypto framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), later this year, which will make the EU an attractive alternative for crypto talent.
There have also been a variety of crypto efforts in Asia, where innovations like instant payments, digital wallets, and contactless payments have quickly gained traction. China has long pushed for its central bank digital currency, commonly called the digital yuan, to gain more precedence in a culture dominated by mobile payments.
India has been a powerful player in instant payments with its UPI system, which has quickly become the predominant method of payment in the country. Now India is making headway with crypto—according to Shen, though 18.8% of all crypto developers are based in the United States, India is next with 11.8%.
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