What is going to happen to mining? Bold thoughts on cryptocurrency from the CEO of emcd. Mike Jerlis

“When I was 10 years old, I could rebuild a computer and reinstall Windows. And I never liked to live according to patterns. I left school after 9th grade, having passed my external exams for 10th and 11th.”

Today ultramining.com is speaking with the CEO of one of the top 10 mining pools in the world, emcd., a professional in the crypto industry — Mike Jerlis. We’re talking about Mike’s personal qualities and how to optimise the business. We’re going to discuss the competitive advantages of emcd. in the crypto world and try to predict what will happen after the halving of BTC.

Mike Jerlis

About the personal

“Only those who are honest with themselves create quality, not mediocre results.”

Mike’s life since childhood has been unremarkable. He was born into a creative family and was passionate about art and freedom of thought. Music has always had a special place in his life, and its different directions: EDM Electronic Dance Music, techno, hip-hop, neoclassical, classical and jazz.

— I never liked living in patterns. I left school after 9th grade, having passed the programme for 10th and 11th externally. After school I was looking for myself and worked in different spheres. Then I tried to build a career in a corporation, but I quickly realised that it wasn’t my thing and chose the path of an entrepreneur.

— Mike, as the founder and CEO of one of the top 10 mining pools in the world, what qualities do you value in your employees?

— The main principle in choosing employees is similar values. One of the most important is honesty. Only those who are honest with themselves can create quality results and avoid mediocre ones. Proactivity is also important. In our company there are no bosses and subordinates, everyone can take a leadership position and take more responsibility. Although there is certainly a hierarchy, management is decentralised.

Mike believes that the founder sets the cultural code of the company. The broader his worldview, the more opportunities for development the business has. By studying culture, art, religions, we add to our knowledge of how to unite people, convince and inspire them.

The CEO himself is inspired not only by people and projects, but also by charity. The entrepreneur gives 10% of his profits to orphaned children and research to protect the environment from microplastics.

About starting a business

“Our emcd. team started with 3 people and 1 million rubles that I had mined”.

— My path consisted of experience in different niches, but I was always predominantly interested in technology. I got my first computer when I was 7. At the age of 10 I could rebuild it, install Windows and understand BIOS. Years later, starting out in the entrepreneurial sphere, I realised that it wouldn’t be easy. My professional path wasn’t smooth, but since you are now interested in my personality, it all worked out!

— How did you get acquainted with mining?

— At first, I was studying to become a developer, at the same time learning about investments, including investments in cryptocurrency. After a while, I met a person in one of the crypto chat who told me about mining and the way to earn money from it. Then I opened a credit card for 300,000 roubles… That’s how I started mining Ethereum.

Mike says that there was a period when he built mining farms on video cards, after that on ASICs, now Innosilicon.

— Nowadays, I prefer to mine only BTC, because it can be mined on an industrial scale. At the start the emcd. team consisted of 3 people and a budget of 1 million rubles, which I mined. We launched once, then after 3 months we changed the strategy a bit.

Mike says that in the beginning he combined all positions: from CEO to support manager. Given his past experience, he has a good understanding of how to build all business processes from the inside. Jerlis also understands what direction to take next and how to attract clients.

— During 6 months the number of our clients has doubled. The sales department now has not only a department for co-operation with CIS countries, but also a foreign team. We have entered the global arena, and the focus of attention is shifting from B2C to B2B. At the moment we are working not only with the Russian-speaking audience, but also with English-speaking audiences all over the world.

About the current realities at emcd.

“We are in favour of the highest quality of service and maintenance”.

— Which way is emcd. moving at the moment?

— The company is undergoing an important transformation. I can’t reveal everything yet, but I will say that we are in the process of opening our own farms. We also have a number of banking products in development, which we plan to realise.

Mike explains that emcd. projects have their own liquidity scenario. Most products need it, so the company borrows it from users at a reasonable interest rate. The payment comes from the profits from these products. For example, when a user wants to exchange BTC for USDT, the emcd. company exchanges it on the exchange, but for the user the transaction is instantaneous. 

— We don’t have steaking as such, but we do have interest accounts. In fact, we use BTC for mining pool liquidity and USDT for liquidity on our xChange platform. We have not implemented steaking yet, although we plan to develop our earn products in the future.

— Сryptocurrency miners are interested in how you compete with other pools with a small capacity?

— There is no competition, there is decentralisation. Because competition between pools is present only in the fight for miners. For example, we are differentiated by better support, quality of service and maintenance.

Mike explains that even in company policy, he has several values.

Flexibility. Despite having more than 100 people in the team, emcd. remains a startup, not a corporation, and can change plans.

Team. The contribution of each employee is valued.

Safety. First and foremost for visitors.

Customer care. Emcd. offers miners support 24 hours a day with almost the speed of response — with a response within a minute. The average solution to any problem and any user request — up to three minutes.

About the industry

“Сryptocurrency mining is scaling up and corporatising”.

— What do you think will happen after the BTC halving?

— After the halving the block reward for miners will be halved, which may lead to a temporary decrease in mining profitability. However, the value of BTC is expected to rise, which will offset the decrease in rewards. Strategically, cryptocurrency mining is moving towards increased scale and corporatisation.

As Mike Jerlis says, his company is committed to supporting the diversity of participants and offering competitive terms to both large B2B clients and individual miners.

— We plan to expand support for new cryptocurrencies, including Kaspa. We are working on legalisation of mined cryptocurrency by collaborating with AML partners.

In addition, according to Mike Jerlis, emcd. is working on the launch of the Pay function, which will allow sending cryptocurrency by phone number, simplifying P2P transactions.

— We also offer internal transfers with no fees to improve the user experience on our platform. The goal is to make P2P trading accessible and convenient for all users. To expand our presence in new markets by providing efficient tools for trading and mining. But there is still a lot of work to do in this direction.

In conclusion

“The perfect country for miners does not exist yet”.

— Based on your extensive experience, what advice do you have for beginners and experienced miners?

— I advise beginner miners not to sell Ethereum at $15, as I did, and not to realise the cryptocurrency when it is at the bottom. Wait for the market to rise and pay for the power with other assets.

Beginning miners, according to Mike, should choose more efficient equipment and always seek advice from experienced colleagues. It’s also worth researching different mining programmes and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

— For the experienced, I think it would be useful to look at eco-friendly mining options. For example, processing flare gas to reduce energy costs and improve the environment.

Mike Jerlis doesn’t talk about which country is the best for mining, only noting that there is no ideal one yet. Ideally, there should be transparent taxation, loyal regulation of cryptocurrencies and access to favourable electricity tariffs.

— Also important is the approach of the country’s authorities to innovative technologies and openness to cooperation with mining companies. The UAE, for example, can offer a stable political and economic environment, plus it has a high level of technical infrastructure, which can facilitate the deployment and maintenance of mining centres. However, climatic conditions and high cooling costs pose serious obstacles for miners.