In 2023, the price of SOL tokens rose 937% from $9.97 on Jan. 1 to $103.3 on the last day of the year. According to a new report by the Solana Foundation, behind this extraordinary price increase is a prolific ecosystem in developer activity.

The 2023 State of the Solana Developer Ecosystem concludes that "the Solana developer ecosystem has over 2500 monthly active developers on open source repositories, ongoing growth of professional developers joining the ecosystem, and a maturing developer environment."

Solana suffered a big hit with the collapse of the FTX and Alameda Research, as Sam Bankman-Fried's enterprises were deeply invested in several of the network's projects. 

The scale of Solana decreased significantly after November 2022. Still, while investors and some major projects fled, many developers held on to the belief that, with its cheap transaction fees and high speed, Solana was indeed an "Ethereum killer."

While the price of the SOL token only began to recuperate in the final few months of last year, the report shows that developers' commitment was steady throughout the year, with an average of 2500 to 3000 active developers building on the network every month.

The Layer-1 blockchain also boasts a great capability to retain developers. The Solana Foundation writes that "3-month developer retention within the Solana ecosystem has increased from 31% to >50%," pointing to improved developer onboarding and more job opportunities as critical factors that have helped maintain builders in the space.

Additionally, the analysis of the network's health measured the levels of developer experience and growth opportunities.

It concluded that over half of the developers who join the blockchain have at least three years of experience, and from 400 to 500 developers graduate from Solana boot camps every six months.

Other events organized by the Solana Foundation, such as hackathons, provide developers with great opportunities to learn, network and find funding for their projects.

"Over the past three years, more than 3000 projects have launched and over $600 million in funding has been raised for projects submitted to the hackathons. With each hackathon, the number of project submissions has increased. The most recent hackathon, Solana Hyperdrive, had more than 900 submissions."

Developers are the backbone of a blockchain; their commitment sustains the ecosystem's supply and creates long-term dynamism. While the price surge in the last few months speaks of the investment appeal of the network, this report highlights that, more than a valuable token, Solana is growing to become a vibrant blockchain ecosystem.

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