US Senator Affirms Bitcoin Is a Commodity Not a Currency

US Senator John Boozman revealed that, even though it is called a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is still considered a commodity, not a currency. He emphasized that exchanges where commodities are traded, including bitcoin, must be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

“Bitcoin, even though it’s a cryptocurrency, it’s still a commodity. It’s a commodity in the eyes of federal courts and the opinion of the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There is no dispute about this,” Boozman said in a hearing, quoted from Bitcoin.com, Tuesday (6/12/2022).

Calling FTX’s collapse a shock, the senator said public reports showed a lack of risk management, conflicts of interest and misuse of customer funds.

Senator Boozman went on to talk about crypto regulation and empowering the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the primary regulator of the spot crypto market.

“The CFTC has consistently demonstrated its willingness to protect consumers through enforcement action against bad actors,” continued Senator Boozman.

Boozman believes the CFTC is the right agency for an expanded regulatory role in the digital commodity spot market.

In August 2022, Boozman and several senators introduced the Digital Commodity Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) to empower the CFTC with exclusive jurisdiction over the digital commodity spot market.

Two other bills have been introduced in Congress this year to make the derivatives regulator the primary watchdog for the crypto sector.

While bitcoin is a commodity, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly said most other crypto tokens are securities.