The new CFTC requirement will affect managers that trade more than a deminimus amount of commodities, including certain futures, options and swaps.

FORBES: CFTC Registration Adds Additional Regulatory Layer for Hedge Funds

And the amount of cash invested is tiny compared with the size of the total commodities market.

ECONOMIST: Commodity speculators do more good than harm

Unlike virtually all other commodities, the amount of gold in inventory is vastly in excess of its annual production.

FORBES: The Gold Standard, and the Myth About Money Growth

In February 2011, when commodities exchanges raised the amount of their own capital that speculators must set aside in order to trade, the price of oil fell 10% within a few months.

FORBES: Will President Obama's $52 Million Plan Cut Oil Prices By 10%?

The securities and commodities futures trading commission have a tremendous amount of overlapping authority.

FORBES: Sheila Bair For Treasury Secretary

In February 2012, the commodities exchanges cut by 9% the amount of capital that speculators need to set aside before trading.

FORBES: Will President Obama's $52 Million Plan Cut Oil Prices By 10%?

The key is the amount of trading in the ETF's underlying elements, be they stocks, bonds, commodities or currencies.

WSJ: No Need to Avoid All Low-Volume ETFs

This already seems to have happened with hedge funds and commodities, and it may be about to happen with private equity, given the amount of capital that it has recently raised.

ECONOMIST: The quixotic appeal of exotic assets