[Order]

I'm of two minds on this.

With the futures market being a place that individuals can trade non-public information for a profit, and the history of Bitcoin being tied to criminal activity (drugs, ransom ware, etc.), I see a potential for market manipulation. The value of Bitcoin is still extremely volatile; due to the inherent anonymity and media presence surrounding the asset, the ability to trigger a price swing and make a killing in options is a reality.

On the other hand, estimated illicit transactions have decreased substantially due to the evolving ability for law enforcement to track down individuals from Bitcoin transactions (worth noting that I couldn't find solid numbers on this). If this realized reduction of anonymity thwarts most attempts at market manipulation, I'm thinking that these futures can help Bitcoin more quickly find stability in the world market.

[TooSmugToFail]

I'm not decided either.

One of the scenarios certainly is an implicit regulation of BTC (and with time Ethereum) trading. Currently, I'm not sure the authorities can call market manipulation happening on the crypto exchanges. But with futures being out there, traded on a regulated market, then manipulating the underlying would surely qualify as market manipulation (not an expert on US securities regulation).

But this is just one aspect. I'm wondering how soon it will take for us to see various trading strategies playing both sides of the market (crypto/fiat), and what effect will that have on the price in the short term, and the future of BTC going forward.

[infinii]

I really wish people would stop using this "bitcoins used for illegal activities" narrative. USD is used for illegal activities and on a much larger scale yet nobody talks about it.