The NIST and NSA didn't have a hand in deriving Curve 25519, which was created by a very well trusted cryptographer Daniel J. Bernstein. One of the goals of Cur

The NIST and NSA didn't have a hand in deriving Curve 25519, which was created by a very well trusted cryptographer Daniel J. Bernstein. One of the goals of Curve 25519, IIRC, was to use parameters chosen from a handful of mathematical constants as seeds, as opposed to black box constants which could be chosen by an attacker with advanced cryptographic knowledge. (e.g.: the largest employer of mathematicians in the country, the NSA.)