In his commentary "Bitcoin and international crime" (Nov. 25) E.J. Fagan vilifies cryptocurrency for aiding criminals and enabling their crimes. He vilifies Johns Hopkins professor Matthew Green and fellow researchers for their work on the ZeroCoin currency. By extension, he scolds Johns Hopkins University for supporting this research.
I do share Mr. Fagan's concerns about the outcomes of these systems. But Mr. Fagan fails to acknowledge that the widespread adoption of anonymous cryptocurrencies is inevitable. Hindering research in this area will not prevent the existence of ZeroCoin or another currency with comparable properties. Given this, I want published, mainstream academic research into these systems, rather than keeping this knowledge in the shadows.
Thomas Valadez
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