Yes, it always has been. What the US is doing is just walking on eggshells. I guess the bureaucrats have to be occupied...

Saying it is a commodity is just omitting the second word of the term commodity money.

There are countries beside El Salvador where BTC was money from the gecko, treated like Gold and without capital gain taxes etc.

Of course. My point was it's not money when it suits the U. S. government. For instance, currencies of nations we have relationships with must be freely tradable, EXCEPT bitcoin (El Salvador). They twist themselves into knots trying to stop adoption. They will fail.