Yesterday, Wall Street announced the launch of bitcoin futures trading by the first half of 2018. This addition to Nasdaq’s list is done as well by equity investment company Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the two financial institutions are acknowledging the rising importance of the cryptocurrency. Traditional traders and brokers will be able to engage in trading in the cryptocurrency. The financial institutions are not the first to make this move, as CME already announced the launch of bitcoin futures contracts last month.

Cryptocurrencies nonetheless do not appeal to all, and Nobel prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz declared yesterday on Bloomberg TV that bitcoin should be outlawed, as it is a bubble without any benefit for the society at large. For the economist, currency emission is a matter regarding exclusively governments, and the danger coming with this system being circumvent is real. This extends the list of influential personalities rising their voice against the current hype, including Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and numerous SEC representatives.

As bitcoin gains more and more traction, having peaked this week, opposing parties are multiplying proportionally. KYC and AML concerns are the first arguments opposed to the new currency, two features intrinsically linked to the nature of bitcoin.