I think there is truth in the fact that the starting of Bitcoin futures caused the wild market fluctuations. The present Bitcoin future contracts at the CBOE are cash settlement meaning that neither the buyer nor the short seller have to own any bitcoin. They just settle up with USD at the end of the contract. This is just pure gambling.

IMO, this cash settlement takes away one of Bitcoin's greatest advantages - that there is only a limited amount of Bitcoin. And this enhances Bitcoin's value because it is a scarce commodity. Cash settlement futures could create an infinite amount of BTC being traded in the derivatives market.

If the NYSE requires the futures contracts to be traded in actual Bitcoin, that I believe will help raise the price of BTC.