Bitcoin is now classified as a commodity in the U.S. along with gold, oil and pork bellies, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

And it all stems from regulatory actions taken against Coinflip. On Thursday, the CFTC announced it had filed and settled charges against the bitcoin exchange for enabling the trading of options contracts on its platform. The order marks the first time the regulatory agency found that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies “are properly defined as commodities,” according to an agency...