FBI convenes crypto crime forum in San Antonio as losses top $11 billion

The FBI hosted its ninth annual Virtual Asset Technical Exchange in San Antonio, bringing together senior FBI officials, foreign law‑enforcement partners, compliance specialists and blockchain‑forensics companies. The invitation‑only event, held September 2‑3, 2026, reflected growing concern over cryptocurrency‑related crime, which the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported as exceeding $11 billion in losses for 2025.

Scale of reported crypto crime

IC3 recorded 181,565 cryptocurrency complaints in 2025, contributing to total cyber‑enabled losses of nearly $21 billion. Investment fraud accounted for more than half of crypto‑related losses, with $7.2 billion reported.

Key topics and participants

Presentations covered a range of illicit activities, including terrorist financing, cartel operations, human trafficking, child sexual‑abuse material, violent attacks on crypto holders and nation‑state threats. Private‑sector vendors were limited to roughly 50 participants; attendees included representatives from Chainalysis, the Security Alliance, FinCEN, TRM Labs and Predicate, whose CEO Nikhil Raghuveera spoke on stablecoin compliance and the GENIUS Act.

North Korean cyber operations

Several sessions focused on attacks linked to North Korea. TRM Labs attributed $643 million—about 66 % of the $1 billion stolen in the first half of 2026—to North Korean actors, highlighting the April 1 exploit of the Solana‑based Drift Protocol (≈$285 million loss) and a $292 million attack on KelpDAO. The Drift breach involved social‑engineering of protocol signers and the use of a fabricated token to withdraw assets.

Sanctioned entities and illicit flows

Chainalysis estimated that sanctioned entities received roughly $104 billion in cryptocurrency during 2025, a 694 % year‑over‑year increase, driven primarily by Russia, Iran and North Korea. The firm warned that its figures represent a lower‑bound estimate.

Emerging hacking trends

TRM Labs reported 333 hacking incidents in 2026, totaling $1.73 billion in stolen assets. The majority of losses stemmed from compromised credentials, administrative access and social‑engineering attacks rather than smart‑contract bugs.

FBI’s dedicated crypto unit

The bureau’s Virtual Assets Unit, established in February 2022, centralizes blockchain analysis, seizure support and training for agents. The unit’s growth parallels the rise in reported crypto complaints, underscoring the need for coordinated law‑enforcement response.