Thank you for the thoughtful analysis. I'd echo that the deregulation and corruption of these markets has two impacts: 1) less "legitimate" (non-corrupt) capital flowing to these markets which may ultimately reduce the liquidity and value of the asstrs. 2) more speculative deployment of capital, which means that capital is used for making bets rather than uses for productive purpose (such as investing in legitimate investments that are productive for the economy.

Why would a insider invest in legitimate, productive investment when they can make outsized gains in betting markets or corrupt futures markets?

And yes, long term this will massively taint the US financial power and make economies like the UK more appealing.