The FBI runs a yearly meeting where cops, crypto firms and compliance workers gather to chase the same targets: terrorist funding, fraud, human trafficking, violent crime and hacking by foreign governments. The event is called the Virtual Asset Technical Exchange, and the September 2025 edition brought hundreds of attendees to San Antonio, Texas.
The forum has lasted nine years, according to a repeat attendee. This year’s three-day event drew a couple of hundred law-enforcement officials, compliance professionals and crypto-security specialists. Blockchain forensics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs were present, along with representatives from the Security Alliance (SEAL) and FinCEN.
Who Showed Up
Nikhil Raghuveera, co-founder and CEO of Predicate, gave a presentation on stablecoin compliance and GENIUS. Representatives from SEAL and FinCEN also attended. The FBI and Chainalysis declined to comment. TRM confirmed its presence. Predicate acknowledged that its CEO presented.
The symposium caps at about 50 private-sector vendors and partners, with total attendance into the hundreds. Discussions covered terrorism, fraud, trafficking, violent crime, North Korean hacks, and intelligence sharing between industry and law enforcement.
The Numbers Behind the Event
The FBI established its Virtual Assets Unit in February 2022, bringing together specialists from its criminal and cyber divisions. The unit’s purpose is to coordinate the agency’s response to digital assets used in criminal activity.
One attendee summed up the event’s purpose: “This is not a crypto event,” they said. “It is a law enforcement event for law enforcement and the people they work with.”
A Token Recovery executive, Roman Bieda, posted on LinkedIn confirming the 2024 symposium took place in Austin. That confirms the meeting has been held in multiple cities.
The Cases on the Agenda
Topics included the Drift exploit, where hackers stole over $270 million from a Solana-based exchange in April. Crypto activity tied to sanctioned states surged in 2025, with sanctioned entities receiving 694% more crypto, according to Chainalysis.
Why the Gathering Matters
The gathering brings together two groups that rarely speak in public: law enforcement and the companies that track digital assets. The FBI gets access to tools and data it might not otherwise see. The companies get a chance to shape how those tools are used.
The attendees are not here to promote crypto. They are here to find the money behind the bad actors.
The Pattern of Attendance
| Year | Location |
|---|---|
| 2025 | San Antonio, Texas |
| 2024 | Austin |
The meeting has been held in multiple cities, though the source confirms only two locations across two years.
What Comes Next
The FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit is still young. Its work will likely grow as more crimes involve digital assets. The gathering in San Antonio was the ninth of its kind, and it shows no sign of fading.
The attendees discussed the threats they face, and the companies that build the tracking tools had a chance to show what they can do.
The Bottom Line
The gathering is not a crypto event. It is a law enforcement event for law enforcement and the people they work with. The attendees are chasing the same targets, and they are using the same tools to do it.
The FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit has been operating for four years, and the symposium has been running for nine. Both are here to stay.
The gathering’s goals fall into a clear order:
- Coordinate the FBI’s response to digital assets used in criminal activity.
- Bring law enforcement and crypto-tracking firms into the same room.
- Give attendees a chance to shape how tracking tools are used.
- Let the FBI see tools and data it might not otherwise see.
- Help attendees find the money behind the bad actors.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the citizens and local groups pushing back against surveillance and is against the camera networks, data dragnets and the vendors lobbying to keep them, including the blockchain forensics firms and compliance representatives gathered at the Virtual Asset Technical Exchange. The meeting brings law enforcement and crypto-tracking firms into the same room, giving the FBI access to tools and data it might not otherwise see — and giving those firms a chance to shape how those tools are used.
That coordination is part of the FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit, which the paper opposes alongside the rest of the surveillance apparatus. The unit brings together specialists from the criminal and cyber divisions, coordinating the agency’s response to digital assets used in criminal activity. The gathering has been held in multiple cities, including San Antonio and Austin.
The paper wants individuals to be free from mass tracking, and small businesses to operate without government pressure. It backs the citizens and local groups pushing back against surveillance, and it opposes the camera networks, data dragnets and the vendors lobbying to keep them, including the blockchain forensics firms and compliance representatives gathered at the Virtual Asset Technical Exchange.
Source material: “Inside the FBI’s little-known annual crypto crime gathering,” CoinDesk.
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