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BloombergBusiness is reporting that Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator:
Virtual money is officially a commodity, just like crude oil or wheat.
So says the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which on Thursday announced it had filed and settled charges against a Bitcoin exchange for facilitating the trading of option contracts on its platform.
"In this order, the CFTC for the first time finds that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities," according to the press release.
While market participants have long discussed whether Bitcoin could be defined as a commodity, and the CFTC has long pondered whether the cryptocurrency falls under its jurisdiction, the implications of this move are potentially numerous.
By this action, the CFTC asserts its authority to provide oversight of the trading of cryptocurrency futures and options, which will now be subject to the agency's regulations. In the event of wrongdoing, such as futures manipulation, the CFTC will be able to bring charges against bad actors.
Also covered by The Register.
This is not so much a change of official position as it is an assertion by the CFTC that it is able to regulate this market. The bitcoin market has been basically going sideways this year. Does this decision affect your [planned] use of bitcoin in any way?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 20 2015, @08:29AM
Just to note, the verb, "talk up" is a phrasal verb [wikipedia.org]
a verb and a particle and/or a preposition co-occur forming a single semantic unit. This semantic unit cannot be understood based upon the meanings of the individual parts in isolation, but rather it can be taken as a whole
Talk Up [wordnik.com]
To talk about (something or someone) in such a way as to make the thing or person sound better than it actually is.
"talking up" can imply fraud (though not always). It's semantically distinct from "talk".
Talk [wordnik.com]
To articulate (words)
Posting anonymously as I don't want to get caught up in the flame war.
As is often the case, the argument took hold because you two were actually talking about two distinct things, while thinking you were talking about the same thing.
(Score: 2) by jdavidb on Sunday September 20 2015, @10:01PM
As is often the case, the argument took hold because you two were actually talking about two distinct things, while thinking you were talking about the same thing.
Well, I think it's actually that we have a different value system. I don't think there should be any restrictions on "talking up" stuff, either. If my uncle calls me up and says pork bellies are the next hot thing, I don't think anybody can objectively look at that and call him right or wrong and say he's committed a crime. If I agree I can buy pork bellies or if I disagree I can just not buy a pork belly. Same if it's Bitcoin. (As a matter of fact, my uncle has for years told my dad about "next hot things," and I have emailed my uncle telling him about Bitcoin.)
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