Just 4 years ago, Mongolia witnessed a brief but intense crypto boom. However, that surge quickly faded, leaving only a flicker of interest. In 2024, that flicker has reignited. Here’s a closer look at the current landscape of Mongolia’s crypto market.

🫠 More Foreign Than Domestic

A total of 645 virtual assets trade across 12 officially registered crypto exchanges in Mongolia. Of these, 42 are domestic, while 603 or 93% are foreign. Despite the overwhelming foreign presence, the trading volume in 2024 rises by 60.5% from the previous year, reaching ₮2 trillion. Sadly, only 3% of this total volume comes from domestic virtual asset trading.

• 🔑 Key Drivers: The approval of a Bitcoin ETF by the SEC and the return of Donald Trump as President influence the trajectory of Mongolian crypto trading. For closer look, in 2024, domestic virtual asset trading falls by 55%, while foreign trading surges by 75%.
• 🐾 On Which Exchange? 51.4% of domestic crypto product trading occurs on Idax, 31.9% on CoinHub, with the remainder traded on various other platforms. For foreign virtual assets, 33% of trading takes place on Altex Investment and 28.2% on X-Meta. Notably, in 2023, X-Meta dominates foreign trading, but in 2024, Altex takes the lead.

⬆️ Growth: 9 Out of 42

Despite the overall increase in trading volumes, domestic coins remain less attractive. As of the end of 2024, only 9 out of the 42 domestic coins see price increases from their initial value. This 9% increase contributes to a 6.8% rise in the total market capitalization of the 42 assets, reaching ₮258.3 billion.

🎭 Trading Activity 

A total of 932,000 people register on 12 crypto exchanges, with 460,000 verified users. However, only 14,000 people actively trade. Despite this small number, these traders average ₮168.6 million in daily trading volume of domestic crypto assets.

The Current State

The initial crypto fever cools, but foreign virtual asset trading gains momentum, largely driven by international developments such as U.S. policy changes. Consequently, crypto exchanges see a 121% increase in revenue and a 28% decrease in expenses. After operating at a net loss of ₮11 billion in 2023, the exchanges turn profitable, with a net gain of ₮1.2 billion in 2024.