U.S. regulator: Digital currencies like bitcoin are now a commodity

Virtual money is officially a commodity, just like crude oil, gold or wheat.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it on Thursday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also said that it has settled charges against a Bitcoin exchange for operating an online business associated with commodity options without registering.

The rule will force cryptocurrencies to abide by CFTC regulations during transactions.

"In this order, the CFTC for the first time finds that bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities," the regulator said in a statement. Under the ruling, a company will need to register in order to operate a trading platform for Bitcoin derivatives or futures.

The implications of this move are potentially numerous. 

By this action, the CFTC asserts its authority to provide oversight of the trading of digital currency 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 infringers.

If a firm wants to operate a trading platform for Bitcoin derivatives or futures, it will need to register as a swap execution facility or designated contract market.

The regulation comes after CFTC ordered San Francisco-based Coinflip and its CEO Francisco Riordan to close Derivabit, a website that offered to connect buyers and sellers of Bitcoin option contracts. The CFTC filed and settled charges against Coinflip and Riordan Thursday.

In December 2014, the CFTC's head told a Senate committee that the commission failed to oversee bitcoin derivatives.

"While there is a lot of excitement surrounding bitcoin and other virtual currencies, innovation does not excuse those acting in this space from following the same rules applicable to all participants in the commodity derivatives markets," said Aitan Goelman, head of the CFTC's Enforcement Division, in the statement Thursday.

The CFTC did not fine Riordan and his firm, and Riordan settled the case without confessing or denying the charges, according to Reuters. He represented himself in the case and reportedly said the settlement was fair.