On September 22, 2019, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, made its long-anticipated return to the United States market with the launch of Binance.US. The dedicated fiat-to-crypto trading platform represented a carefully structured effort to serve American customers while navigating the complex web of U.S. cryptocurrency regulations.
TL;DR
- Binance.US launched on September 22, 2019, as a regulation-compliant platform for U.S. customers
- The platform offered free trading until November 1, 2019
- 13 U.S. states were excluded from the initial rollout, including New York, Texas, and Florida
- Supported trading pairs included BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, USDT, and BNB
- BAM Trading oversees both Binance and Binance.US, registered with FinCEN
Building a Compliant Platform
The road to Binance.US began in June 2019, when the parent company announced it would block U.S. citizens from accessing its global trading platform. The decision was driven by increasing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the United States without proper licensing. Rather than abandoning the lucrative American market, Binance chose to build a separate, fully compliant entity.
BAM Trading Services, which oversees both Binance and the U.S. subsidiary, registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury Department. The company continued working toward state-level regulatory compliance, a process that varies significantly from state to state and can take months or even years to complete.
Binance.US CEO Catherine Coley framed the launch as just the beginning. In a blog post accompanying the announcement, she emphasized the company’s mission to bring access to users across all states, even those currently excluded. The platform planned to roll out additional batches of cryptocurrencies that meet U.S. regulations based on its Digital Asset Risk Assessment Framework.
State-by-State Challenges
The exclusion of 13 states from Binance.US operations highlighted the fragmented nature of U.S. cryptocurrency regulation. Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Washington were all left out of the initial rollout.
New York presents perhaps the most formidable regulatory barrier in the country. Cryptocurrency companies operating in the state must obtain a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services, a process that has proven notoriously difficult and expensive. Several major exchanges have opted to simply avoid the state rather than pursue the license.
Trading Features and Incentives
For users in eligible states, Binance.US offered a full suite of exchange services, including deposits, withdrawals, trading, and wallet storage. The platform supported seven cryptocurrencies at launch: bitcoin, ether, XRP, bitcoin cash, litecoin, tether, and binance coin. To encourage adoption, Binance.US offered free trading through November 1, 2019.
The timing was notable. Bitcoin was trading around $10,070 when Binance.US launched, and the broader crypto market was watching closely to see how the new platform would compete with established U.S. exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken. The combination of Binance’s global brand recognition and a compliant domestic structure gave the platform a unique positioning in an increasingly crowded market.
Why This Matters
The launch of Binance.US underscored a fundamental shift in the cryptocurrency industry’s relationship with regulation. The world’s largest exchange, which had built its dominance partly through a permissive approach to compliance, was now investing significant resources into building a regulation-friendly platform. This signaled to the broader market that regulatory compliance was no longer optional for any exchange seeking to serve U.S. customers. Binance.US would go on to become a major player in the American crypto landscape, though not without further regulatory challenges. The September 2019 launch marked the beginning of a new chapter in the ongoing tension between cryptocurrency innovation and government oversight.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.
13 states excluded including NY, TX, and FL. Basically the three states that actually matter for crypto volume. Rough start.
Kofi M. nailed the 13 states thing. excluding NY, TX and FL from day one basically handed Coinbase the entire US market on a plate
Kofi nailed it. NY with BitLicense, TX with money transmitter rules, FL with its own regulatory maze. skipping those three was basically admitting they couldnt compete with Coinbase on compliance
dex_delays free trading until november was customer acquisition 101. lose money on fees for 2 months then capture them for years. coinbase did the same thing in 2015
free trading until november was a smart move. get them hooked then start charging. classic binance playbook
and people wonder why DEX volume started exploding right after. if you cant serve half the country whats the point of being a centralized exchange
BAM Trading registered with FinCEN but then look what happened a few years later. The compliance story was always paper thin.
the SEC lawsuit years later proved Leila right. compliance was always theater with these guys. billions in fines later and they act like nothing happened
^ excludes ny, tx and fl – basically the three states that matter for crypto volume. rough start
13 states excluded and they still launched. imagine the board meeting where someone said lets skip NY TX and FL and everyone nodded. peak 2019 crypto energy
13 states excluded from day one basically handed coinbase the entire us market on a plate