For Emma Todd, it was a 2017 conference that transformed her newfound interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain into a passion. As she learned more, she had an epiphany: more people needed to better understand the esoteric world of cryptomining. Not one to be a flaneur, she is now harnessing this opportunity.



On May 18, 2018, Todd will launch the inaugural ADI Cryptocurrency Mining Summit (ADI stands for Advanced Digital Innovation) as a part of Blockchain Week NYC. This comes on the heels of the first ADI Summit which was held in September 2017 in Vancouver, B.C.

The mission of the ADI Cryptocurrency Mining Conference is to introduce new ideas, technologies and techniques around cryptocurrency mining. In addition to an investor panel, there will be discussion forums around security, compliance and legal issues; all critical elements for any successful mining operation. Finally, a hands-on workshop will explain the differences between industrial mining operations and hobby-mining systems, while demonstrating how users can set up their own home-mining rigs.

A number of well-known speakers in the industry will be presenting at the conference, including Samson Mow, CSO of Blockstream; Andrew Kiguel, president and CEO of Hut 8 Mining; Steve Schaeffer, president of MGT Crypto Capital Assets; Tim Bukher, a lawyer and partner at Thompson Bukher LLP; and Amber Scott, founder of Outlier Solutions.

Todd, who comes from a marketing and event planning background, told Bitcoin Magazine that she’s excited about the opportunity to address a largely unmet need by hosting a cryptomining conference.

According to Todd, what sparked the decision to have the conference were the endless questions she was receiving from so many people about mining. “Honestly, I had similar questions. So I started to look for conferences and couldn’t find any.”

Furthermore, Todd has recently witnessed a growing trend among Chinese mining companies that are wanting to come to North America because of increased regulations at home. “They’re asking, ‘Is there anything you can do to help us out?’”

She is hoping the conference will be of value to both the industrial mining sector as well as individual hobby miners. “We anticipate that many attendees will be interested in just the basics of how they can mine. Unfortunately, this is often harder for those without an engineering background. We are going to show people how to navigate this space, including how set up a mining rig. At the end of the day, we are going to show people the best path to mining.”

Besides these hands-on discussions, there will be attention given to some of the broader developments occurring in the mining arena. “By way of example, mining companies have been flocking to Quebec which has caused this Canadian province to put the brakes on due to potential energy and environmental factors. The good news here, given the fluidity of the crypto and blockchain space, is that someone is probably already out there thinking about this issue of greater (mining) energy efficiency.”

For Todd, one of her greatest goals for this conference is for it to engender discussion and allow people to ask questions. “The hope is that people will walk away having discovered things they didn’t know about, wanting to do a bit more investigation. Most importantly, I’d love to see people who are brand new to mining leave with all the tools they need to set a mining operation up for themself.”

She concludes: “To me, knowledge is power. So if we can offer people, the average individual, a chance to learn more about mining so that they can mine for themselves or invest in an operation, than I will absolutely be thrilled to have achieved my goal.”