It's probably fair to say that 2009 was the year of the dark pool, but the next 12 months might pan out very differently, according to a number of industry observers.

"Dark Pools are on the endangered species list - I think their days are numbered, at least in the form that anyone would consider them a viable tool,” said Phillip Silitschanu, senior analyst with research firm Aite Group in a recent phone conversation.

He argues that the rule change mooted by the US Secruties and Exchange Commission (SEC), whereby dark pools will have to publicly report quotes once they handle 0.25 percent (down from the existing limit of 5 percent) of a stock’s daily average volume, could be disastrous for dark trading venues.

“If it happens, then unless you’re trading a small or mid-cap security with volume numbers that no one would even care about, the dark pool is rendered useless. They would be killing it essentially.”

It won’t just be US venues which suffer, he adds, tighter regulation could be felt elsewhere. “I hope the same thing doesn’t happen in Europe, but I’d have to say it probably will.”