While the Bitcoin ecosystem has recently seen notable development, numerous projects have aimed to expand the original blockchain's utility for an extended period. One such initiative is the Rootstock sidechain, launched in 2018.

Sergio Demian Lerner, a Buenos Aires-based programmer, is recognized for his early investigations into Satoshi Nakamoto's mining activities, as well as his contributions to Ethereum's development. Currently, Rootstock is advancing its "BitVMX" project, which aims to enhance Bitcoin's programmability through Robin Linus's BitVM design, introduced in late 2023.

The project's whitepaper states, "The BitVMX framework provides the foundations to run any CPU on Bitcoin." Its goal is to transform Linus's BitVM paradigm theory into practice by establishing a framework for program execution on the Bitcoin blockchain and supporting the development of sidechains and Layer 2 solutions.

Rootstock anticipates completing this project by late Q1 2025, as noted in their roadmap. The BitVMX Bridge promises to revolutionize bridging technology on Rootstock by creating a trust-minimized Bitcoin/Rootstock connection without altering the Bitcoin consensus protocol, based on the 1-of-n honest assumption.

This profile is part of CoinDesk's Most Influential 2024 package. For a list of this year's nominees, click here.