TRM Labs

The FBI’s Virtual Asset Technical Exchange has become a quiet meeting point for investigators, law enforcement agencies, compliance specialists and crypto-security firms. This year’s San Antonio event focused on digital-asset crime ranging from terrorism financing and trafficking to North Korean hacks and cyber-enabled fraud.

Haruko, a London-based crypto technology provider for institutional clients, was hit by a targeted cyberattack that affected 15 customers and exposed read-only exchange API details and trading data. Some smaller hedge-fund clients with weaker security controls may have lost a small amount of funds, while Haruko said it has fixed the vulnerability and refreshed server-side secrets.

A dispute over the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 is intensifying as its issuer claims large-scale activity while blockchain analytics firms point to declining usage and inflated transaction flows. The disagreement highlights how difficult it can be to measure crypto activity tied to sanctions, decentralized finance and Russia-linked payment networks.

CoinEx has pushed back against allegations that it served as a major conduit for sanctioned Iranian crypto activity. TRM Labs says the exchange handled billions in blockchain-traced transfers, while CoinEx denies any commercial relationship with Iranian entities.