Categorization of Bitcoin is never ending discussion. It is a currency, commodity, property? This actually is a problem.
In one country BTC is currency in others commodity and some others are waiting...
Semantics and legal issues are the reasons why we don't have any serious bitcoin legislation in place.
In US bitcoin is classified both as currency (by U.S. Treasury ) and commodity (by Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
How simple people can be smart when even pros have no idea what bitcoin really is?
Maybe the regulators should make a new category. Then in that category they should start from scratch and create new laws for it. If they will depend on the system they have now then there would be a lot of holes a lawyer could find. One good example is the man from Florida who was charged with money laundering using bitcoins. The judge dismissed his case because the judge declared that bitcoin is not real money. I think the judge did what he did because he does not want to make a mistake that will set a precedent in the upcoming money laundering cases involving bitcoin. It was way over his head.
Bitcoin is used in less than 0.1% cases of money laundering compared to standard FIAT. Do we really have to treat BTC like holy grail of money laundering?
Financial elites and banks and parabanks laundered probably more dirty money in in 21th century (last 15 years) than current bitcoin market cap is.