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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

BloombergBusiness is reporting that Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator [bloomberg.com]:

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 [cftc.gov] 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 [techcrunch.com] as a commodity, and the CFTC has long pondered [ft.com] whether the cryptocurrency falls under its jurisdiction [bloomberg.com], 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. [theregister.co.uk]

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?

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