Mark duBose P'24 Speaks on Cryptocurrency at Finance Academy

By Nicholas Grover ‘22

On Tuesday November 2, 2021, the St. Sebastian’s Finance Academy met for the first time this school year. Approximately 90 students across grades nine through twelve listened to Mr. Mark duBose, father of sophomore Henry duBose, speak on the interesting world of cryptocurrency. Mr. duBose holds both a Master of Business Administration as well as a law degree from Wake Forest University. He has had an extensive career in the financial services industry working in many different groups within many banks. Today, Mr. duBose is the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of Centre, which governs the technology, policy, compliance, audit and reserve standards for USD Coin (USDC), the fastest growing dollar-based digital currency in the world.

Mr. duBose began his presentation quite cleverly, describing the first transaction involving the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. In 2010, a Florida man traded his 2 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas from a local store. Using this story, Mr. duBose highlighted just how much the cryptocurrency space has grown since then. Mr. duBose then transitioned into teaching the students about the basic principles of cryptocurrencies. He described how one mines crypto and actually owns a cryptocurrency. He explained their growing prevalence as an alternative to traditional currencies, citing El Salvador as the first country in the world to encourage citizens to trade via Bitcoin. Finally, Mr. duBose shared his view on the future of cryptocurrencies and their effects on traditional currencies.

Mr. duBose was kind enough to answer many questions from the large group of attendees and we thank him for taking time out of his schedule to present to the Academy, which students will use to deepen their understanding of this hot topic.