• The number of deployed smart contracts on the Ethereum mainnet surged by 453% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• The year-over-year growth of deployed smart contracts was 293%.
• Testnet deployments hit an all-time high of 2.7 million, reflecting a 187% quarter-over-quarter increase.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of deployed smart contracts on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet experienced a significant surge of 453%, according to a recent report from Alchemy. This marked an impressive 293% year-over-year growth of deployed smart contracts. Despite the bear market, the number of smart contracts deployed hit an all-time high of 4.6 million since 2021 Q2.
The report utilized libraries (developer tools that are easily read and applied), smart contracts, and dApps as core indicators to track the developer activity on Web3. It was noted that the crypto assets held on exchanges plummeted by 45% in the last quarter of 2022, however, this decrease did not have a major effect on the deployment of smart contracts.
In addition to the surge in deployed smart contracts, testnet deployments also hit an all-time high of 2.7 million, representing a 187% quarter-over-quarter increase. Furthermore, the number of SDK installs and bridge users also recorded a 16% and 43% quarter-over-quarter increase respectively, reaching 1.8 million per week and 443,000 unique users.
The surge in smart contract deployments on the Ethereum mainnet reflects the continued growth in the development activity on Web3. The report from Alchemy offers an in-depth analysis of the development activity on Ethereum, allowing developers and investors to better understand the current state of the blockchain industry. With the continued growth in the number of smart contracts, it is likely that the Ethereum mainnet will continue to see an increase in the number of deployed contracts in the future.