In Episode 68 of Colors of Web3 & Entrepreneurship, we dive into the Bitcoin ecosystem with Sebastian Guaqueta, software engineer at Rootstock. Sebastian’s story is inspiring—from mechanical engineer in Colombia to game dev, to Web3 hacker, and now helping bring DeFi to Bitcoin through Rootstock.

We explore how Rootstock brings smart contract functionality to Bitcoin using an EVM-compatible Layer 2, powered by merge mining. Sebastian breaks down how the protocol works, the innovative Hacktivator program for developers, and the unique DAO-powered grants for builders. For those curious about real Bitcoin use cases beyond store of value, this is an episode packed with technical depth and real-world applications.

Whether you’re a Bitcoin OG, an Ethereum dev, or someone curious about where DeFi is headed, this episode is your bridge between the chains.

⏳ Timestamps:

00:00:00 Trailer

00:00:28 Intro & Sebastian’s intro

00:01:24 Sebastian’s background: engineer to Web3

00:02:40 How Sebastian got into freelancing

00:06:18 Big gaming project in Singapore

00:09:23 Why Sebastian loves Hackathons

00:11:21 First hackathon win

00:12:35 Carbon offset project on Celo

00:15:13 ETHGlobal finalist story

00:18:39 Sebastian's Hobbies: FIFA & soccer

00:24:18 Deep dive on Rootstock

00:26:18 Merged mining concept explained

00:27:03 RBTC bridge

00:30:18 Some statistics of Rootstock

00:30:55 Some ideas to build on Rootstock

00:31:59 Dev tools & Hacktivator

00:34:55 Rootstock DAO grants

00:37:39 POWpeg bridge

00:39:05 Potential apps that can be built on Rootstock

00:41:17 Leveraging Bitcoin in DeFi use case

00:43:06 Rootstock Collective - Governance

00:48:39 People and team behind Rootstock

00:50:59 Team communication challenge

00:52:24 ZK integration challenge

00:54:25 Competition in Bitcoin L2s

00:55:53 Future of Bitcoin ecosystem

00:58:53 Limitations due to Bitcoin architecture

00:59:43 Mining reward sustainability

01:02:52 80% of Bitcoin hash rate go into merge mining

01:05:16 Breaking into Web3 advice

01:07:14 The importance of networking

01:09:13 Where to follow Sebastian

01:10:06 Outro & next episode preview

Follow Sebastian Guaqueta and Rootstock:

Rootstock's Website: https://rootstock.io/

Rootstock DAO: https://rootstockcollective.xyz/

Rootstock hacktivator: https://dev.rootstock.io/resources/contribute/hacktivator/

Sebastian's Twitter/X: https://x.com/scguaquetam

Rootstock's Twitter/X: https://x.com/rootstock_io

Rootstock Github: https://github.com/rsksmart

My social media:

Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.twitter.com/LamWeb3⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lamweb3/⁠

Website: ⁠https://lamtrinh.xyz⁠

My old article about the 2-3 prevailing narratives of 2024-2025: https://substack.com/home/post/p-143541984

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