Although bitcoins fall under the CEA’s definition of commodity, it is unclear what category of commodity they fall under. Bitcoins may be
categorized as an excluded commodity if they are viewed as being a type of currency or other financial interest. A means of payment is certainly one use
for bitcoins. On the other hand, there are several reasons why bitcoins should be categorized as an exempt commodity. First, bitcoins may be
viewed as being similar to precious metals because they are limited in supply, capable of being physically delivered (at least in a digital sense),
and obtained through the computational equivalent of physical mining. In addition, like metals, bitcoins are a capital good because they are used to
produce other goods and services such as digital assets and contracts.22
Second, the CFTC classifies intangible commodities as exempt commodities “if ownership of the commodity can be conveyed in some manner and the commodity can be consumed.”23 Bitcoins may accordingly
be viewed as intangible exempt commodities because, even though bitcoins are digital, they can be owned and “consumed” in the sense of being spent (or traded). Finally, bitcoins may be categorized as an exempt commodity because commodities that fail to meet the definition of an agricultural
commodity or an excluded (financial) commodity are classified as exempt ommodities.24 Classifying bitcoins as exempt commodities and not as excluded (currency) commodities would be consistent with the approaches taken by U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Internal Revenue Service.
25

Original doument here http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@aboutcftc/documents/file/gmac_100914_bitcoin.pdf


Regulating Bitcoin and Block Chain Derivatives
by Houman B. Shadab
Professor of Law, New York Law School
houman.shadab@nyls.edu
Written statement to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Global Markets Advisory Committee
Digital Currency Introduction – Bitcoin
October 9, 2014

Bitcoin as an Investment Class - Part II of an ongoing series

Public Document - Google document

http://goo.gl/AdNtNf

Possible move