Bitcoin doesn’t meet the definition of a currency or even an electronic payment form in Finland, where the central bank has instead decided to categorize the software as a commodity. “Considering the definition of an official currency as set out in law, it’s not that. It’s also not a payment instrument, because the law stipulates that a payment instrument must have an issuer responsible for its operation,” Paeivi Heikkinen, head of oversight at the Bank of Finland in Helsinki, said in a Jan. 16 phone interview. “At this stage it’s more comparable to a commodity.” In the Nordic region, Norway’s government has also decided Bitcoin doesn’t qualify as a currency, while in Denmark the financial watchdog says it’s putting together recommendations for lawmakers on how to treat Bitcoin and its competitors. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-19/bitcoin-becomes-com...