Bailey Belisario to speak at Bitcoin Day
Dakota State University alumnus Bailey Belisario is speaking at Bitcoin Day in Sioux Falls on Saturday. He will discuss his own journey with Bitcoin and Bitcoin in the education system.
“Bitcoin is a digital, decentralized, permissionless, monetary system,” explained Belisario.
He first became interested in cryptocurrency, or digital currency, in 2017. While earning a degree in cyber operations and a master’s degree in computer science at DSU, he was also studying blockchain technology, investing and economics. By 2021, he took the blockchain MIT course available on YouTube.
The technical knowledge Belisario gained earning his degrees helped him better understand cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. And with this knowledge, he hopes to give back.
After becoming involved in the Bitcoin community on Twitter, he met Andy Ott, who runs Sioux Falls Bitcoin, an organization that hosts monthly Bitcoin meetups and advocates for Bitcoin use in the Sioux Falls area.
Through the group, Belisario learned about Bitcoin Day in Sioux Falls. Bitcoin Day is a tour that introduces and teaches communities about Bitcoin. While initially considering volunteering, he ended up signing up to be a speaker at the event.
In addition to sharing his own experience with Bitcoin, he will discuss Bitcoin education. Belisario will be one of the instructors of a special topics class to be offered in the spring of 2023 at DSU. The class, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies (emphasis on Bitcoin), will be taught by Belisario, Dr. Deb Tech and Dr. Yenling Chang.
The DSU course will examine the impact of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology from a technical, financial and business perspective.
“What I want to get across to students is for everyone to understand what this technology is and begin to use it themselves,” Belisario said.
He is looking forward to continuing to share his knowledge in new ways.
“This is a huge step for Dakota State to take this topic head-on, and we are just getting started.”
Belisario is a Research Engineer II in the Applied Research Lab at DSU.
Bitcoin Day will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn City Centre in Sioux Falls. Tickets can be purchased at bitcoinday.io/siouxfalls22.
