In a challenge to the venture capital-backed bitcoin exchange Coinbase Inc., Japan’s largest bitcoin exchange, bitFlyer Inc., has opened its doors in the United States after obtaining approval to operate in a majority of states.

The company, founded in 2014, said in a statement that it had received a BitLicense from New York State Department of Financial Services and approval from 40 other states to allow it to begin operating in the country. As part of its U.S. launch, the company is not charging trading fees through to the end of this year.

Although the initial no-fee offer will be highly appealing, bitFlyer does have some limitations, the largest being that it currently only supports deposits and withdraws via bitcoin and international wire transfer, although support for U.S. ACH bank transfers is planned. In addition, the exchange offers no support for other cryptocurrencies. But bitFlyer did say that it “plans to expand its cryptocurrencies to include altcoins such as Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash and more” in the future.

BitFlyer has some impressive stats. Along with being Japan’s largest bitcoin exchange, it’s the world’s 14th largest exchange, but according to TechCrunch, when margin volume is included, bitFlter is the largest bitcoin exchange globally by total exchange volume.

bitFlyer enters the U.S. market well-funded, having raised $36 million in venture capital funding from investors that include Digital Currency Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital. Still, that number pales in comparison with Coinbase, which has raised $217 million to date. Its last round gave it unicorn status with a valuation of $1.6 billion.

The launch couldn’t have been better timed for bitFlyer, with the company opening its doors in the U.S. on the same day bitcoin passed $10,000 for the first time. After having teased $10,000 on Monday, the new milestone was hit at 8:30 p.m. EST today.

Image: bitFlyer