Asterium Review: Uzbekistan Crypto Exchange — Licenses, Fees, Cards

In brief: Asterium is one of two platforms in Uzbekistan holding a valid crypto exchange license. As of 22 September 2026, the NAPP register lists three licenses for Asterium JSC — exchange CE #0006, depository CD #0007 and store CS #0017, all dated 2 April 2026: they were reissued when the company was reorganized from an LLC into a joint-stock company. Only one tariff rate is publicly disclosed — 0.6% for an exchange at an office with a 300 USDT minimum; the exchange's trading fees are not published and, under clause 9.2 of its public offer, are shown in the interface before a transaction. Products: the exchange, a wallet, an exchange office at two Tashkent locations, crypto cards, Fixed Earn in USDT and AUZ gold.

Asterium at a glance: owner, licenses, offices

Parameter	Value (taken 22 September 2026)	Source
Legal entity, address	ASTERIUM JSC, Tashkent, Mirabad District, 12-A Said Baraka Street	NAPP register
Owner / head	Sanjar Yuldashevich Makhmudov — 100% / Komilkhuja Abdukarim ugli Sultonov; the legal entity was registered on 30 January 2025, TIN 311876558	NAPP register; orginfo.uz (data as of 26 February 2026)
Licenses	CE #0006, CD #0007, CS #0017 — all dated 2 April 2026	NAPP register
Charter capital	30 billion soums at the time the exchange license was issued (per Kursiv, 17 April 2025); 85.68 billion soums in the ASTERIUM LLC profile on orginfo.uz as of 26 February 2026, before the reorganization into a JSC	Kursiv, 17 April 2025; orginfo.uz
Offices, contacts	12A Said Baraka Street (Mon–Fri 09:00–18:00, Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 10:00–20:00) and 3 Zargar Street (Mon–Sat 10:00–23:00, Sun 10:00–19:00); support@asterium.uz, +998 78 777 55 58	NAPP register and website

The company obtained its licenses one after another: the crypto store on 12 March 2025, the depository on 19 March, the exchange on 15 April; spot trading launched almost a year later, on 5 March 2026. "We opened the Asterium crypto exchange as a clear and legal service for working with crypto assets in Uzbekistan," CEO Komilkhuja Sultonov said at the time (advertising publication by Asterium on Gazeta.uz, 5 March 2026; translated from Russian).

Asterium's license in the NAPP register

In the NAPP register, ASTERIUM JSC appears three times — among exchanges, depositories and stores; the basis is the same: orders of the agency's director No. 24, No. 26 and No. 25 of 2 April 2026, "license reissued due to the reorganization of the licensee." The previous numbers CE #0005, CD #0005 and CS #0013 sit in the table of invalid licenses — this is not a sanction but a replacement on a change of legal form (a breakdown of the register is in a separate article). By NAPP order No. 49 of 1 June 2026, the exchange was also included in the list of authorized platforms through which foreign nationals under the special regime introduced by Decree PF-180 open a crypto wallet; besides Asterium, only COINPAY is on it.

What the platform offers

• Spot exchange — trading and analytics on the web and in the app; "more than 100 currencies" are claimed, and the list of pairs is published only in the interface.
• Asterium Wallet — soums, dollars, USDT and crypto assets in one wallet, plus payment for utilities and mobile services. Transfers to Uzcard and Humo cards by phone number are marked "coming soon" and had not launched as of 22 September 2026.
• Crypto cards Humo, Visa and Mastercard — virtual, plastic with delivery, and Instant; the account holds USDT and AUZ gold. The company specifies: this is "automatic conversion of crypto assets into fiat currency" at the moment of payment, not settlement in cryptocurrency.
• An exchange office at two Tashkent locations, the Fixed Earn program and tokenized assets; tokenized stocks and real estate are marked "coming soon."

Asterium fees: what is published and what is not

The platform has no public trading tariffs. Clause 9.2 of the crypto exchange's public offer (version of 21 September 2026): fee amounts "are reflected in the interface when a transaction is performed and may be changed by the Crypto Exchange unilaterally"; clause 8.7 promises to publish deposit and withdrawal limits, timeframes and charges on the website, but as of 22 September 2026 they are not there. Comparing the terms with a competitor before registering is not possible. Publicly disclosed (the "Exchange office" and "Cards" pages, 22 September 2026):

Operation	Terms
Exchange at an office	0.6%, minimum 300 USDT (≈3.54 million soums at the Central Bank rate of 11,809.82 on 22 September 2026)
Standard-check threshold, crediting time	up to 100,000 USDT; 5–10 minutes after confirmation
Cash withdrawal, conversion	from 1%; conversion "at the platform rate"
Trading fees, deposits and withdrawals	not published, shown before a transaction

Moving assets between the platform's products is, the company states, free of charge (advertising publication by Asterium on Gazeta.uz, 5 March 2026), while "the platform rate" means a spread is added on top of the percentages.

Deposits, withdrawals and verification

Depositing soums — by transfer to the exchange's accounts at its servicing bank, "from cards and/or accounts opened in the Client's name" (clause 8.1 of the offer): you cannot top up with someone else's card, and cash is accepted only in person. Withdrawals go to the customer's account or card (clause 8.3) — this is a requirement of paragraph 54 of the trading rules (reg. No. 3379, lex.uz), not the platform's decision; no conversion is performed on withdrawal (clause 8.5). Verification — from age 18: an identity document, PINFL, contact details and biometrics via third-party services; a second account is prohibited, and if one is detected all of the customer's accounts are blocked "without prior warning" (clause 3.9).

Fixed Earn: USDT rates and why it is not a deposit

Six USDT programs with a rate fixed at placement (Earn page, 22 September 2026): 7 days — 3.5%, 14 — 3.75%, 30 — 4.75%, 60 — 5%, 90 — 5.25%, 180 days — 10% per annum. The six-month rate stands out from the series — twice the 90-day rate — and the platform does not disclose its economics: according to its FAQ, the reward "is formed within the crypto exchange's internal liquidity management model," and placed assets "may be used by the platform."

On risks. The company lists the limitations itself: funds are not covered by the deposit insurance system, Asterium is not a bank, the rate "is not a promise of income," accruals are calculated in the asset itself, and on early withdrawal the reward may be reduced or canceled.

AUZ gold and the HUMO stablecoin

AUZ is a token backed by physical gold of 999.9 fineness: 1 token = 1 gram, ERC-20 standard, Mirasmanda network, with the metal held in Octobank's vault. The minimum purchase is 0.01 gram, delivery as a bar starts from 5 grams, and an order takes up to a month to fulfill through the custodian bank. A detail missing from other reviews: the issuer of AUZ is not Asterium. In NAPP's electronic register of crypto assets (taken 22 September 2026), the token is listed as "asset-backed" with the issuer Finance Invest Brok LLC, TIN 310203224, and the issue registered on 21 April 2026. Asterium here is the sales platform and the depository; the obligations lie with the issuer.

Asterium JSC is named as the infrastructure partner of the HUMO stable token pilot in the Central Bank press release of 7 September 2026: the issuer is HUMO Digital LLC, 1 HUMO = 1 soum, backed by government bonds, with Asterium keeping the register of rights. The mechanics of the pilot are in "HUMO Stablecoin".

Account blocking and user ratings

A frequent theme in reviews is frozen funds. Section 14 of the offer lists eleven grounds for blocking — from suspicious transactions to "high-risk" assets arriving in the wallet; the term is "no more than 30 calendar days" (clause 14.2), but clause 14.3 allows it to be extended unilaterally. Clause 12.2 sounds harsher: the exchange has the right "at any time, at its own discretion... to block, restrict or close Clients' Accounts... without notice or explanation of reasons." The agreement gives no guaranteed unblocking timeframe.

Ratings as of 22 September 2026: App Store (Uzbekistan storefront) — 4.2 out of 5 from 152 ratings, of which 117 are five-star and 27 one-star; Google Play — 2.88 out of 5 from 276 ratings; Yandex Maps for the office at Oybek — 4.4 out of 5 from 27 reviews; Trustpilot — 2.4 out of 5, 8 reviews in a year, 88% one-star. Complaints center on blocking: on Trustpilot, user Nilu (Germany) wrote on 4 September 2026 of two weeks spent trying to get funds returned, and Avazbek Isakov (Uzbekistan) reported on 28 January 2026 an account block and the loss of assets worth about $1,500. These claims cannot be verified independently — they are the position of the reviewers; in the platform's favor, the Trustpilot profile is verified by the company and replies have been given to 85% of negative reviews.

Pros and cons

Pros. Three NAPP licenses, verifiable by number in the register. The only exchange besides COINPAY on the list of platforms for the foreign nationals' special regime. A closed loop of "exchange — wallet — card — office" with cash in Tashkent; transfers of assets between products are, per the company's statement, free of charge.

Cons. No trading tariffs in open access. The 300 USDT minimum for an office transaction cuts off small amounts. The Google Play rating is 2.88 out of 5, 88% of Trustpilot reviews in a year are one-star, and all of them concern blocking and refunds. No derivatives or margin trading — the toolset for an active trader is narrow.

FAQ

Is it legal to use Asterium in Uzbekistan? Yes: NAPP licenses CE #0006, CD #0007 and CS #0017 of 2 April 2026 are visible in the agency's register, and working through a licensed provider has been the lawful procedure for crypto asset transactions since 1 January 2023 (step-by-step guide — "How to Legally Buy Crypto in Uzbekistan").

What are Asterium's fees? One rate is publicly disclosed: 0.6% for an exchange at an office with a 300 USDT minimum. Trading fees and deposit and withdrawal charges are not published — under clause 9.2 of the offer they are shown in the interface before a transaction.

How much does an Asterium crypto card cost? Issuing a Humo or VISA card is free, Mastercard from 1 USDT; maintenance from 1 USDT a month for Humo and VISA and from 2 USDT for Mastercard, cash withdrawal from 1% (Asterium website, 22 September 2026).

How do I withdraw money from Asterium? Only to an account or card opened in the customer's own name (clause 8.3 of the offer and paragraph 54 of Rules No. 3379); no conversion is performed on withdrawal.

What should I do if Asterium has blocked my account? Under clause 14.2 of the offer, a block is imposed for the duration of a check but for no more than 30 calendar days, with the exchange having the right to extend it. Request the written grounds and the check's completion date and keep the correspondence; if there is no reply, complaints are filed with NAPP.

Do I have to pay tax on Asterium transactions? No: under PQ-3832 as amended by Decree PF-140, crypto asset transactions are not subject to taxation until 1 January 2029 — details in "Crypto Tax in Uzbekistan".

Sources

• NAPP, 22 September 2026: license register, crypto asset register, list of exchanges for the special regime, Rules No. 3379
• Asterium, 22 September 2026: website, exchange office, cards, Earn, AUZ, HUMO, public offer
• Gazeta.uz, 5 March 2026, Spot.uz, 16 April 2025, Kursiv, 17 April 2025, orginfo.uz, Central Bank of Uzbekistan on the HUMO pilot, 7 September 2026, Central Bank of Uzbekistan exchange rates, 22 September 2026
• Ratings: App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot, Yandex Maps