# James Ferguson

> James Ferguson is a co-founder of Immutable X, an Ethereum scaling solution, with expertise in game design, software development, and blockchain since 2015.

- Canonical URL: https://iq.wiki/wiki/james-ferguson
- Categories: People in crypto
- Tags: Founder
- Created: 2023-04-10T09:38:13.927Z
- Last updated: 2023-04-14T21:40:59.180Z
- Source: IQ.wiki — the world's largest blockchain and crypto encyclopedia (https://iq.wiki)

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**James Ferguson** is one of the co-founders of [Immutable X](https://iq.wiki/wiki/immutable-x), a layer-2 scaling solution for the [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain). He has a background in game design and software development, and has been involved in the blockchain industry since 2015. [\[1\]](#cite-id-dkj3mzyeq49)  
  
  
  
# Early Life & Education  
  
Ferguson has a double degree in commerce and law from the University of Sydney. During his studies, he took a year off to pursue coding in San Francisco. [\[1\]](#cite-id-dkj3mzyeq49)[\[2\]](#cite-id-gjg7yiy0myb)  
  
# Career  
  
Ferguson started his career in 2015 as the cofounder of Rivlr, an e-sports tournament platform that allowed people to play their online multiplayer games for prizes. Afterwards, he founded Shopyak, a platform used to build single page stores. [\[1\]](#cite-id-dkj3mzyeq49)  
  
## Immutable X  
  
In 2015, James and his brother [Robbie Ferguson](https://iq.wiki/wiki/robbie-ferguson) were introduced to [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) and recognized its potential for the enablement of [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract). These contracts are programmed and unalterable, which is why the Fergusons named their business Immutable. [\[2\]](#cite-id-gjg7yiy0myb)  
  
After the launch of [CryptoPunks](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptopunks), the brothers saw the potential of [NFTs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/non-fungible-token-nft).  
  
> “CryptoPunks was what I would call a proof of concept for a crypto collectible. We thought it was very cool, but for us, the idea of taking that and combining it with video games was so obviously a better system.”  
  
In 2018, they founded [Immutable](https://iq.wiki/wiki/immutable-x), a layer-2 scaling solution for games based on [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum). [\[2\]](#cite-id-gjg7yiy0myb)  
  
> “I think all the value in the world – or most value in the world – [will end] up being under the hood, backed by blockchain technology.”  
  
Immutable started as Fuel Games, which was responsible for producing NFT-based games such as Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians. The company underwent a rebranding in 2019 to Immutable. [\[2\]](#cite-id-gjg7yiy0myb)