Friday marked a huge milestone for Coinbase where it has secured over $75 Million in funding from notable large investors like NYSE and USAA. With this funding they have said that they will be opening the first regulated Bitcoin exchange on US soil! Coinbase already operates in 19 other countries as a legitimate exchange and has been working over the last half a year on acquiring the necessary licenses and approvals to open up shop on home soil. Coinbase will include a .25% commission/trading fee that goes directly to Coinbase but to get things started they will be offering all consumers two months of free trading to get the ball rolling. Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong is a big proponent of Bitcoin and crypto-currency is looking to have Coinbase operating in at least 30 countries by the end of this year. Coinbase has helped the following big name retailers to accepting Bitcoin: Wikipedia, Square, Dell, and Overstock.com.

Coinbase Exchange isn’t currently operating in Minnesota which is a bummer. If you’re looking to trade Bitcoin you will still need to use one of the other popular Bitcoin Exchanges (btc-e, bitstamp, OKCoin, or bitfinex). Coinbase is still one of the easiest places for someone here to purchase their first portion of a Bitcoin. Have a great week and we’ll catch you on the BTC round-up Friday!