Has any court or regulator called a crypto unit money, not property, and why?
Research question: Has any court or regulator anywhere formally classified a crypto unit as money rather than property, and what was the reasoning?
The verified facts do not show any court or regulator formally classifying a crypto unit as money rather than property. The U.S. IRS treats virtual currency as property 1, and the CFTC treats it as a commodity rather than money 818. Germany's BaFin called Bitcoin a unit of account and a financial instrument under the Banking Act, while noting it is not legal tender 52. A federal district court held that cryptocurrency counts as 'funds' under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, reasoning that this accords with Congress's intent to protect consumers 1116, though that is a statutory meaning rather than a formal classification as money. The newest fact is dated 2025-09-22, about thirteen months before October 2026, so later developments are not reflected 23.
Sources
"Internal Revenue Service, Notice 2014-21, IRS Virtual Currency Guidance: Virtual Currency Is Treated as Property for U.S. Federal Tax Purposes; General Rules for Property Transactions Apply (Mar. 25, 2014)."Virtual currency law in the United States
"In Deutschland ist Bitcoin weder Zahlungsmittel, noch E-Geld , Devisen oder Sorten"Zahlungsmittel
"The South African Revenue Service classified bitcoin as an intangible asset."Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory
"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) describes Virtual Currencies (VCs) as "a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange , a unit of account , and/or a store of value [and] does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction.""Virtual currency law in the United States
"allerdings ist es nach der Feststellung der BaFin eine Rechnungseinheit ( englisch unit of account ), welche in „multilateralen Verrechnungskreisen“ eingesetzt werden kann, und somit Finanzinstrument im Sinne des"Zahlungsmittel
"Bitcoin is considered a commodity, [ 63 ] not a security or currency under the laws of the Kyrgyz Republic and may be legally mined, bought, sold and traded on a local commodity exchange."Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory
"The US Department of Treasury in 2013 defined it more tersely as "a medium of exchange that operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real currency"."Digital currency
"The Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulates as commodities."Virtual currency law in the United States
"whereby it declared that virtual currency had "no legal status or regulatory framework"."Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory
""Virtual currencies are commodities, US judge rules" . CNBC. Reuters . March 7, 2018"Virtual currency law in the United States
"A Federal district court also recently held that cryptocurrency, as a ``digital form of liquid, monetary assets,'' unambiguously constitutes ``funds'' under EFTA."Electronic Fund Transfers Through Accounts Established Primarily for Personal, Family, or Household Purposes Using Emerging Payment Mechanisms (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025-01-15)
"A virtual currency has been defined in 2012 by the European Central Bank as "a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community "."Digital currency
"has stated that VAT/GST is not applicable to the conversion between traditional (fiat) currency and bitcoin."Legality of cryptocurrency by country or territory
"Several courts interpreting ``funds'' in the context of Federal money transmitter and money laundering statutes have similarly held that the term ``funds'' is not limited to fiat currency and encompasses other types of assets, including widely held currencies like Bitcoin."Electronic Fund Transfers Through Accounts Established Primarily for Personal, Family, or Household Purposes Using Emerging Payment Mechanisms (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025-01-15)
"defines any virtual currency, cryptocurrency and digital currency as property; gains and losses are taxable"Virtual currency
"These interpretations of ``funds'' accord with Congress's intent by ensuring that consumers are adequately protected and have access to the benefits of innovative electronic fund transfer systems and technology."Electronic Fund Transfers Through Accounts Established Primarily for Personal, Family, or Household Purposes Using Emerging Payment Mechanisms (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025-01-15)
"Within any specific government jurisdiction, different agencies and regulators define different and often conflicting meanings for the different types of digital currency based on the specific properties of a specific currency type or sub-type."Digital currency
"has determined virtual currencies are properly defined as commodities in 2015"Virtual currency
"advances,'' reflecting the money-like nature of the funds held in these accounts."Electronic Fund Transfers Through Accounts Established Primarily for Personal, Family, or Household Purposes Using Emerging Payment Mechanisms (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025-01-15)
"and does not possess a legal status of currency or money, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of exchange"Virtual currency
"Under the new rules, bitcoin is no longer considered "currency," though it remains "legal tender.""El Salvador walks back its bitcoin law, ending its status as legal currency
"One of the conditions for a proposed $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility loan was that El Salvador mitigate "potential risks of the Bitcoin project.""El Salvador walks back its bitcoin law, ending its status as legal currency
"The Agencies intend that the revised proposal will ensure that the rules apply to domestic and cross-border transactions involving convertible virtual currency, which is a medium of exchange (such as cryptocurrency) that either has an equivalent value as currency, or acts as a substitute for currency, but lacks legal tender status."Semiannual Agenda (Treasury Department, 2025-09-22)
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