Michael Jerlis is a serial entrepreneur and public advocate for blockchain technology, best known as the founder and CEO of the global cryptocurrency company EMCD. He has guided EMCD's evolution from a specialized cryptocurrency mining pool into a comprehensive digital finance ecosystem.^[4]​^[1]​

Career and Ventures

Early Career

Before entering the cryptocurrency industry, Jerlis worked in the IT department of Alfa-Bank, operated a data center, and was involved in a car-sharing service. He began his involvement with cryptocurrency mining in 2017 and has operated in various global hubs, including Russia, Dubai, and Bali, before relocating to Miami, Florida. As the primary spokesperson for his company, Jerlis frequently provides commentary on Bitcoin mining, market trends, and the Bitcoin Halving.^[4]​^[1]​

EMCD

Jerlis founded EMCD in 2017, conceiving one of Europe's first mining pools at a time when, according to him, the idea was met with significant doubt.^[3] The company's mining pool officially launched in 2018.^[1]​^[2] By 2019, under his leadership, the platform had become the largest mining pool in Eastern Europe, growing its client base from 40,000 to over 50,000.^[2]​

In 2020, Jerlis guided the company's Bitcoin pool into the top 10 largest globally. That year, he secured an official brokerage partnership with Binance to launch Coin-margined futures trading and introduced an "Accumulative account" feature for users to earn a yield on their assets.^[1]​^[2] The company's expansion continued in 2021 with the launch of a peer-to-peer trading platform, a mobile application, and dedicated services for institutional investors, growing the user base to 200,000.^[2] Also in 2021, the company was officially registered in Georgia as a "Virtual Zone Person" to leverage certain tax exemptions.^[1]​^[2]​

Under Jerlis's direction, EMCD continued to innovate, reporting a 262% increase in total hashrate in 2022 and launching a feature that allowed miners to receive payouts in cryptocurrencies different from those being mined. He also oversaw the creation of a B2B platform for trading hashrate via fixed-term contracts.^[1]​^[2]​

A significant milestone in Jerlis's career came in 2023 with the rebranding of the entire platform to Cyberbank emcd. to position the company as a "digital bank for miners." This shift reflected his broader vision of building an integrated infrastructure connecting crypto services with the real-world economy.^[2]​^[4] This period saw the launch of hardware products like the "Smart Heat" (or "Heatbox") for at-home mining and custom firmware for ASIC miners. The company's user base grew to over 250,000.^[2]​

Jerlis expressed his guiding philosophy in an interview:

“EMCD is more than just a pool; it's an entire ecosystem that we are constantly developing. Our goal is to provide our clients with a full range of services for working with digital assets, from mining to financial instruments and innovative solutions like 'Smart Heat'.”^[1]

Between mid-2024 and mid-2025, the platform added approximately 200,000 new users, reaching over 400,000 globally. As of mid-2025, the company's mining pool consistently ranked among the top ten for Bitcoin and operated with a team of 320 employees across 27 countries. In a 2025 interview, Jerlis stated that he allocates over $1.5 million annually to the security of the company's infrastructure and announced plans for expansion into 40 new countries.^[3]​

Awards and Recognition

Jerlis and the company he founded have received multiple awards for their contributions to the cryptocurrency industry.

Founder Awards

• Web3 Founder of the Year (2025), awarded at The BeInCrypto 100 Awards 2025^[4]
• Best Crypto-Entrepreneur Under 35 (2021), awarded by investing.com^[4]

Company and Product Awards

• Best Mining Pool 2025 (for EMCD), awarded by Cryptonomist^[4]
• Best Savings Wallet of 2024 (for Coinhold), awarded by crypto.news^[3]
• Best Mining Service 2021 (for EMCD), awarded by Blockchain Life^[4]