Inside the FBI's annual crypto crime symposium

A CoinDesk report takes readers inside the FBI's little-known annual crypto crime gathering, the Virtual Asset Technical Exchange (formerly the Virtual Currency Symposium). The invitation-only, government-funded event, now in its ninth year, brings together U.S. and overseas investigators, law enforcement officials and crypto-security specialists to exchange intelligence on digital-asset crime.

• This September's three-day event in San Antonio, Texas drew a couple of hundred attendees, capped at about 50 private-sector vendors.
• Blockchain forensics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs attended; TRM confirmed its presence, while compliance startup Predicate confirmed its CEO presented on stablecoin compliance and the GENIUS Act.
• Sessions covered crypto use in terrorism financing, cartels, fraud, trafficking, violent crime and North Korean hacks, plus industry-law-enforcement intelligence sharing.

Attendees stressed the event is "a law enforcement event" focused on illicit finance, national security and asset seizures — distinct from the industry's promotional conferences.