I remember a few years ago, someone told me that cryptocurrency is for criminals, they use it so they can't be tracked, and that we shouldn't invest in it because criminals use it.
But of course criminals use it, they're always look for new ways not to get caught. In fact, the first ever trade made online, was a drug trade.
So just like you said, the technology exists and it's not going anywhere. So we need to embrace it, learn everything about it and then use it to our advantage. If we don't, you can bet your ass that the criminals will.