Binance will launch the US branch of its popular cryptocurrency exchange today, although it will not be made available to residents of New York, Florida, Texas, and 10 other states due to regulatory uncertainty.

The launch, which was announced yesterday by Binance US CEO Catherine Coley, will support just six cryptocurrencies initially, with BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, and USTD all being made available.

Coley, who left her position as XRP institutional liquidity chief at Ripple in July, revealed her disappointment at the decision to restrict trading in some states.

She wrote: “Although it is upsetting that we cannot offer Binance US in the states where I grew up and earned my education at this time, please rest assured that this is just the beginning, and it is our mission to bring access to those of you in these states many of us call home.”

Coley also confirmed that Binance US and Binance.com are separate entities, which means assets held on Binance.com won’t be automatically transferred between exchanges.

Binance.com made the decision to ban US customers from the exchange earlier this year, with some analysts suggesting that this has suppressed the long-awaited ‘alt-season’, as a wealth of cryptocurrency speculators are based in the US.

The decision to restrict US customers was a move of compliance in light of increased regulatory scrutiny from the SEC and CFTC.

Binance boss Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao stated that “there are a lot of things in flux” regarding regulation during an interview last month.

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