The U.S. Treasury classified bitcoin as a convertible decentralized virtual currency in 2013. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, classified bitcoin as a commodity in September 2015. ... Bitcoin is legal in Mexico as of 2017. It is to be regulated as a virtual asset by the FinTech Law.
The digital currency known as bitcoin was created in 2009 by a person called Satoshi Nakamoto, but whose true identity has never been established. It is legal to use bitcoin in the United States, and payments are subject to the same taxes and reporting requirements as any other currency.
The Mt. Gox bankruptcy in July 2014 brought to the forefront the risk inherent in the system. Roughly $500 million worth of bitcoin listed on the company's ledgers did not exist. In addition to the money that account holders lost, the blow to confidence in the currency drove its global valuation down by $3 billion in a matter of weeks.
