FBI’s 2025 Virtual Asset Exchange Drew 300 Attendees in New Orleans
The Aug. 26–28 forum included 179 FBI and Justice Department participants and cost $221,043.
The FBI’s 2025 Virtual Asset Technical Exchange brought 300 attendees to New Orleans to examine illicit digital-asset activity and strengthen cooperation across law enforcement, industry and academia.
The Aug. 26–28 event included 179 participants from the FBI and the Justice Department and cost $221,043. The FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit and the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force organized the forum.
The exchange focused on the cross-border nature of digital-asset crime and the expertise needed to trace illicit funds and identify criminal actors. Its format paired federal investigators with private-sector specialists and academic researchers working on virtual-currency threats.
Professor Yajin Zhou delivered a keynote titled “An Initial Investigation on the TG Crypto Guarantee Ecosystem.” The presentation examined crypto “guarantee platforms” in Southeast Asia.
The FBI established its Virtual Assets Unit on Feb. 7, 2022. The unit combines expertise from the bureau’s Criminal Investigative and Cyber divisions and supports investigations involving illicit virtual-asset flows.
“The FBI’s new Virtual Assets Unit is the result of collaboration, hard work, and strategic vision from FBI employees who came together to establish a virtual currency center of excellence in the FBI,” Brian C. Turner, an FBI executive assistant director, said when the unit was established.
The 2025 exchange reflected a public-private approach to digital-asset investigations, connecting federal investigators with blockchain-security researchers studying stablecoin flows and trafficking-related infrastructure.
