According to BlockBeats, an Illinois district judge has backed the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in ordering an Oregon man and his company to pay over $120 million, part of which will be used to compensate victims of what the agency has termed a 'Ponzi scheme'. The ruling was made by Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Monday, but was released by the CFTC on Wednesday.
The CFTC stated that Sam Ikkurty and his company, Jafia, LLC, made 'significant misrepresentations' and failed to register and engage in fraudulent activities. Notably, Judge Rowland also pointed out in her order that the cryptocurrencies OHM and Klima are commodities.
'The order not only recognizes Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities within the jurisdiction of the CFTC, but also OHM and Klima, two non-Bitcoin virtual currencies, meet the definition of commodities, indicating that these virtual currencies belong to the same category as Bitcoin and have regulated futures trading,' the CFTC said in a statement.
The CFTC did not respond to a request for comment on this. 'I don't think this is a big deal,' said James Brady, a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, in an interview. 'I think this is more of a response to the defendant's attempt to actively claim that the CFTC has no jurisdiction.' Brady added that the SEC may still recognize both as securities in the future.