Is Bitcoin a Commodity or a Security? What US Law Says

Bitcoin is a commodity, not a security, under current US regulatory positions. The CFTC has treated it as a commodity since 2015, and a federal court agreed in 2018. On March 17, 2026, the SEC named Bitcoin as an example of a "digital commodity" and stated that a digital commodity "is not a security."

As of October 28, 2026, Congress has not written that classification into a statute. The House passed the CLARITY Act in July 2025, but the bill has not passed the Senate.

The answer decides which federal agency has authority and which rules apply. In the United States, securities fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Commodities, and especially futures and other derivatives on commodities, fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

If an asset is a security, its offer and sale must be registered with the SEC or fit an exemption, and platforms that trade it face securities rules. If it is a commodity, the CFTC oversees derivatives markets on it, while its spot market has far less federal oversight.

In 2015. On September 17, 2015, the CFTC issued an order against Coinflip, Inc., doing business as Derivabit, and its chief executive officer, Francisco Riordan. The CFTC's press release states the agency's holding that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are a commodity covered by the Commodity Exchange Act.

The case was about Bitcoin options. The CFTC found that Coinflip operated a facility for trading or processing commodity options without complying with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations for swaps. It also found that the company operated a facility for trading swaps without registering it as a swap execution facility or designated contract market.

The CFTC repeated this position two years later. Its October 17, 2017 publication, "A CFTC Primer on Virtual Currencies", states: "The CFTC first found that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities in 2015."

The definition is broad. Section 1a(9) of the Commodity Exchange Act, codified at 7 U.S.C. 1a(9), starts with a list of farm products such as wheat, cotton, rice and corn.

It then extends to "all other goods and articles," with exceptions for onions and motion picture box office receipts. It also covers "all services, rights, and interests" (with the same box office exception) "in which contracts for future delivery are presently or in the future dealt in."

Bitcoin is not named in the statute. Its status as a commodity comes from how the CFTC and the courts have applied this definition.

Only in a limited way. The CFTC's main authority covers futures, options and swaps. Over the spot market, where people buy and sell Bitcoin itself, its role is mostly about fraud and manipulation.

The CFTC primer states: "Beyond instances of fraud or manipulation, the CFTC generally does not oversee 'spot' or cash market exchanges." It adds that the agency has a role "if there is fraud or manipulation involving a virtual currency traded in interstate commerce."

In December 2017. On December 1, 2017, the CFTC issued a statement on the self-certification of Bitcoin products by CME, the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) and Cantor Exchange. The CFTC states that CME and CFE "self-certified new contracts for bitcoin futures products," while Cantor self-certified a Bitcoin binary options contract.

In the same statement, the CFTC described the underlying cash markets as "largely unregulated markets over which the CFTC has limited statutory authority."

Yes. In Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. McDonnell, No. 18-CV-361 in the Eastern District of New York, Senior District Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled on the question in a Memorandum and Order dated March 6, 2018.

The court wrote: "A 'commodity' encompasses virtual currency both in economic function and in the language of the statute." It concluded: "Virtual currencies can be regulated by CFTC as a commodity."

The court also made clear that CFTC authority is not exclusive. It wrote that "The jurisdictional authority of CFTC to regulate virtual currencies as commodities does not preclude other agencies from exercising their regulatory power when virtual currencies function differently than derivative commodities."

The SEC's position has developed in two main steps: the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products in 2024, and a formal interpretation in 2026.

On January 10, 2024, the SEC approved the listing and trading of a number of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) shares. In his statement that day, then-Chair Gary Gensler wrote: "Importantly, today's Commission action is cabined to ETPs holding one non-security commodity, bitcoin."

He also wrote: "While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin."

It is the most direct statement the SEC has made on Bitcoin's status. On March 17, 2026, the SEC announced a Commission interpretation titled "Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets and Certain Transactions Involving Crypto Assets", Release Nos. 33-11412 and 34-105020.

It was published in the Federal Register at 91 FR 13714 on March 23, 2026, with an effective date of March 23, 2026.

The interpretation sorts these assets into five categories: "(i) digital commodities; (ii) digital collectibles; (iii) digital tools; (iv) stablecoins; and (v) digital securities."

Bitcoin is in the first category. The release states: "Examples of digital commodities include Aptos (APT); Avalanche (AVAX); Bitcoin (BTC); Bitcoin Cash (BCH);" followed by other named assets.

On the key question, it states: "A digital commodity itself, as described in this release, is not a security because it does not have the economic characteristics of a security."

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said in the press release that the interpretation acknowledges "that most crypto assets are not themselves securities."

The release defines it this way: "A digital commodity is a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is 'functional,' as well as supply and demand dynamics, rather than from the expectation of profits from the essential managerial efforts of others."

It explains "functional" in a footnote: "a crypto system is 'functional' if the system's native crypto asset can be used on the system in accordance with the programmatic utility of the system."

No, according to the SEC. The interpretation covers proof-of-work mining, which it calls protocol mining, including solo mining and mining pools. It concludes that "Protocol Mining Activities, in the manner and under the circumstances described in this release, do not involve the offer and sale of a security within the meaning of section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act and section 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act."

Bitcoin uses proof-of-work, so this conclusion bears directly on Bitcoin miners.

Yes, through an investment contract. The release states that a non-security crypto asset "can be offered and sold subject to an investment contract, which is a security."

The asset itself does not change status. The release states that the "fact that a non-security crypto asset is subject to an investment contract does not transform the non-security crypto asset itself into a security." It also explains that an asset can separate from an investment contract, for example when the issuer fulfills or abandons its promised efforts.

The interpretation also states that it "does not supersede or replace the Howey test, which is binding legal precedent." The Howey test is the Supreme Court's test for what counts as an investment contract.

Yes, one earlier staff document. A footnote in the release states: "The interpretation supersedes the Commission staff's Framework for 'Investment Contract' Analysis of Digital Assets (Apr. 3, 2019)."

The CFTC joined it. According to the Federal Register text, "the CFTC and its staff will administer the Commodity Exchange Act consistent with the interpretation." The CFTC also states that "certain non-security crypto assets could meet the definition of 'commodity' under the Commodity Exchange Act."

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said in the SEC's press release: "With today's interpretation, the wait is over."

It would put the term "digital commodity" into federal statute. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, H.R. 3633, is a market structure bill. The text passed by the House adds a definition to the Commodity Exchange Act: "The term 'digital commodity' means a digital asset that is intrinsically linked to a blockchain system, and the value of which is derived from or is reasonably expected to be derived from the use of the blockchain system."

An agency interpretation and a statute are different tools. Congress writes statutes. The SEC's 2026 action is an interpretation that "conveys the Commission's views," in the words of the release.

It has passed the House but not the Senate. According to the Congressional Record, the House passed H.R. 3633 on July 17, 2025, by 294 yeas to 134 nays.

In the Senate, the Senate Press Gallery log for September 15, 2026 records: "By a vote of 49-50, the Senate did not agree to the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.3633." The same log notes that Senator Tillis voted no so that he could move to reconsider, and that he then did so.

A bill cannot become law until both the House and the Senate pass it. Until then, Bitcoin's classification rests on agency positions and court decisions, not on a statute naming it.

The sources above lead to a few clear points:

Yes. The CFTC found in 2015 that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are commodities covered by the Commodity Exchange Act. A federal court in New York agreed in 2018, and the SEC's March 2026 interpretation lists Bitcoin (BTC) as an example of a digital commodity.

No, according to the SEC. Its March 2026 interpretation names Bitcoin as a digital commodity and states that a digital commodity "is not a security because it does not have the economic characteristics of a security." The release adds that an investment contract involving such an asset can still be a security.

The CFTC treats Bitcoin as a commodity and oversees Bitcoin futures, options and swaps. In the spot market, the CFTC's primer says it "generally does not oversee 'spot' or cash market exchanges" beyond fraud or manipulation. The SEC's 2026 interpretation says Bitcoin itself is not a security.

Under the SEC's interpretation, a digital commodity is a crypto asset whose value comes from the programmatic operation of a functional crypto system and supply and demand, rather than from expected profits from the essential managerial efforts of others. Bitcoin is one of the release's named examples.

No, according to the SEC. Its 2026 interpretation concludes that protocol mining, including solo mining and mining pools on proof-of-work networks, does not involve the offer and sale of a security under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, in the manner and circumstances the release describes.

No. The House passed H.R. 3633 on July 17, 2025, by 294 to 134. On September 15, 2026, a Senate motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed failed 49 to 50. The bill has not passed the Senate.

No. On January 10, 2024, then-Chair Gary Gensler wrote that the SEC approved certain spot Bitcoin ETP shares but "did not approve or endorse bitcoin." The same statement described Bitcoin as a "non-security commodity" and said the approval was limited to products holding it.

This article is general information and not legal advice.

The United States now treats Bitcoin as a commodity, but every country draws its own lines. Compare more than 140 countries on The Bitcoin Act's interactive Global Bitcoin Regulatory Map: https://thebitcoinact.xyz/bitcoin-legal-map

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