U.S. judge supports CFTC, ruling OHM and Klima as commodities in a case involving a crypto Ponzi scheme

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, a district judge in Illinois has supported the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and ordered a man from Oregon and his company to pay over $120 million, part of which is for compensating victims in what the agency referred to as a "Ponzi scheme."

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Rowland for the Northern District of Illinois stated in an opinion released on Monday that Sam Ikkurty from Oregon and his company Jafia, LLC made significant misrepresentations, but the opinion was published by the CFTC on Wednesday. The CFTC stated that Ikkurty and his company failed to register and engaged in fraudulent activities.

Notably, Judge Rowland also pointed out in the order that the cryptocurrencies OHM and Klima are commodities.

The CFTC stated in a statement that the order not only recognizes Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities under CFTC jurisdiction, but also that OHM and Klima, two non-Bitcoin virtual currencies, meet the definition of commodities, noting that these virtual currencies belong to the same category as Bitcoin and have regulated futures trading.