A 17-Year-Old Cryptocurrency “Genius” or a Middleman for Scammers?

Recently, news about a 17-year-old boy from the Bukhara region, who allegedly earned nearly $3 million trading cryptocurrency, spread across media outlets and popular Telegram channels. The story sounded impressive: a teenager using his “talent” to amass a fortune. However, as it turned out, there is another side to this tale.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the young man was not mining cryptocurrency or engaging in successful trading operations. In reality, he was an ordinary “currency exchanger”—a middleman facilitating money transfers between different currencies, including traditional money to cryptocurrency. Over time, he conducted more than 4,000 suspicious transactions amounting to 34 billion UZS (approximately $3 million).

One alarming detail is that a significant portion of the funds he dealt with came from pension, salary, and online credit cards. This raises suspicions that he may have been a middleman for scammers who stole money from unsuspecting Uzbek citizens’ cards. By utilizing his services, fraudsters could convert these funds into cryptocurrency, making them significantly harder to trace.

Cryptocurrency platforms like Binance simplify the process of transferring funds, making it accessible even to those without deep financial or technical knowledge. However, such convenience is increasingly being exploited by criminals to launder stolen money and hide their tracks. Middlemen like the detained teenager often fail to realize they are part of illegal schemes.

Law enforcement authorities emphasize that the teenager did not profit from trading or mining cryptocurrency but from providing intermediary services, earning commissions ranging from 0.1% to 2% per transaction. While his earnings may seem substantial, they represent only a fraction of the total funds processed through his transactions.

Currently, an investigation is underway to analyze the transactions and determine who orchestrated these schemes and what role the young man played. This case highlights the importance of being vigilant about personal finances and the need for stricter controls in the cryptocurrency sector.