The CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert who has said that Ether and Bitcoin are commodities and confirmed that Bitcoin options are on the way. The main points of his comments are about the acceptance of the technology.
On his appearance on CNBC Mr Tarbert said:
I think whoever ends up leading in this technology will end up writing the rules of the road for the rest of the world. My emphasis is on making sure that the United States is a leader
He then added:
The dollar’s influence on global financial conditions could similarly decline if a financial architecture developed around the new [digital currency] and it displaced the dollar’s dominance in credit markets.
So in his interview, he was not full of concerns about Bitcoin being safe but he is worried that the US will lag behind harnessing the technology. The US dollar is still the world reserve currency. The demise of most global empires starts with the fall of their currency but the world is changing and we need to see the impact of digital currencies against the dollar.
This is especially important as China seems to be embracing digital currencies much quicker than the United States.