When Zillan checked his accounts a few hours after investing, he found that he had made US$10. While that doesn't sound like much, Zillan said he was floored.
"I thought, 'Wow, I just made a 10 per cent return in a day. That's crazy,'" he said.
The following day Zillan invested more money - this time US$1,000. A week later he added an additional US$5,000.
In total Zillan invested just over US$12,000 in a short period of time. This included his entire savings from teaching tennis lessons and his Bar Mitzvah nest egg.
"I risked everything," he said.
In one short year Zillan's investment had snowballed. He claims his entire cryptocurrency portfolio had tallied a staggering US$350,000.
Today, Zillan told Business Insider his portfolio sits comfortably at over a million dollars.
The high school student, who is now 18, says his goal "is to make the crypto community bigger."
"I want to see cryptocurrencies as the future," he said.
Zillan also offers his skills as a cryptocurrency investment guru.
He describes himself as the "Crypto Millionaire" on his website, and is often pictured beside flashy sports cars.
In one photo, the Ohio teenager smiles beside a painting of himself in which he's depicted as Wall Street mogul Jordan Belfort in a scene from the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."
"The Wolf of Crypto Street," the caption reads.
Zillan describes the images as "a marketing type of deal" that shouldn't be confused with the efficacy of his company.
