Mongolia’s Oldest Bank Delivers Full-Stack Crypto Services

The Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB Bank), one of Mongolia’s premier banking institutions, is the latest financial giant to step into the crypto space. Per a report from industry news source DDaily, the firm, which is based in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, is going all-in on the industry and will now offer a suite of services targeted at investors.

All Services Available

The report explains that this new crypto venture results from a partnership between TDB Bank, white-label tech company Delio, and blockchain development firm Hexland. By pooling their resources, the partners are ensuring that TDB Bank will be able to provide a wide array of services – including but not limited to remittance, custody, deposits, asset management, and even loans.

Besides the three partners, the initiative will also reportedly include input from MDKI, a Mongolian mineral resource, and blockchain firm. It is unclear what expertise each firm will bring to the table, although Hexland reportedly provides services like wallet development, smart contract development, and blockchain transaction verification.

TDB Bank is one of Mongolia’s oldest and largest banks. Its decision to enter the crypto space will undoubtedly boost the hopes of increased crypto adoption in the country. While the bank primarily works with industrial clients, there’s little doubt that it would expand its crypto offering to individual investors as well.

Speaking to DDaily, an unnamed official from Delio said that the partnership gives all parties full access to the global virtual asset financial market. For now, however, there’s no launch date for the new crypto service.

Driving Crypto Miners Out

The development marks what seems to be the latest in Mongolia’s push to be a crypto-friendly region. However, there have also been some significant drawbacks – especially for the mining space.

In August, reports confirmed that officials in inner Mongolia were considering an electrical policy that would cut out the supply of cheap, state-subsidized power to crypto mining firms. According to the Inner Mongolia Electric Power Group Co., the region should see about 6.732 billion yuan ($977 million) in new taxes and fees on affected firms thanks to these new measures. 

Inner Mongolia has racked up quite the reputation as a crypto mining hotspot. Firms in the region benefit from a cold climate and access to a skilled labor pool. However, cheap electricity is the most alluring factor. With firms like AntPool and Bitmain setting up shop in the city, it is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. 

This isn’t the first time that reports would allude to a potential freeze of cheap power. Last September, local news source ChainNews reported that five government departments had proposed measures to curtail the region’s growing mining space. 

The departments include the Development and Reform Commission, the Office of the Ministry of Industry, the Public State Department, the Big Data Bureau, and the Financial Office. They reportedly believed that mining was a component of the pseudo-financial world, and that it didn’t have any contributions to Mongolia’s “real economy.” 

It remains unknown whether they would act on the electricity policy or not.