Bitcoin as a Commodity: What the CFTC's Ruling Means
Jared Marx is an attorney at Washington, DC law firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. He advises companies about bitcoin-related regulatory law and represents companies and individuals in civil and criminal proceedings. Here, he discusses a recent ruling by the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which saw it label bitcoin as a commodity. Last Thursday the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settled charges against a small and now-defunct operation in San Francisco called Coinflip, which marketed bitcoin derivatives. In the process, the CFTC asserted....
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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued its first action against an unregistered bitcoin options trading platform, ordering the startup to cease operations and simultaneously settling the case. The CFTC charged San Francisco-based startup Coinflip Inc, which does business under the name Derivabit, and CEO Francisco Riordan with conducting activity related to commodity options, without registering with the agency or meeting rules for exemption. With the ruling, the CFTC has also confirmed that bitcoin and other digital currencies are commodities covered by the....
Only a week after ruling that bitcoin and other digital currencies are commodities, the U. S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Thursday that they have settled charges filed against TeraExchange LLC (Tera) for arranging a "non-deliverable forward contract" last October. Neither of the parties entering the trade were looking to profit off of future bitcoin price changes, but rather to test Tera's network. However, Tera subsequently released a press release that indicated the pre-arranged swap was a real trade, which would violate both the Swap Execution Facility (SEF)....
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is the main financial regulator in the United States, recently ordered a company offering bitcoin options to halt operations. The regulatory agency also ruled that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are classified as commodities and are covered by the Commodity Exchange Act. The regulator issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Coinflip, Inc. Derivabit and is chief executive officer Francisco Riordan for activity relating to commodity transactions without the proper licenses. CFTC Ruling on Bitcoin Options.....
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been officially deemed a commodity by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on September 17. The official CFTC press release reads: Now digital currencies such as bitcoin are in the same category as gold or oil in the U.S. This new authoritative policy gives the agency oversight with businesses operating with the virtual money and the means to regulate it. "In this order, the CFTC for the first time finds that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities." CFTC director of Enforcement Aitan Goelman:
In the first enforcement case against a Bitcoin operator after recognizing the cryptocurrency as a commodity, Bitcoin operator Coinflip has reached a settlement with the U. S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). With the new ruling that virtual currencies are to be recognized as commodities that are under the rules and regulations of existing laws, the U. S. derivatives regulators brought their first case against a Bitcoin trading platform, Reuters reports. The Federal agency said that a settlement had been reached with San Francisco-based trading platform Coinflip and its CEO....