The WSJ reports that Coinbase is to launch a licensed US exchange this coming Monday in what is likely to be a reference to the Space Shuttle Challenger Lunar news which first appeared on the Coinbase website earlier today.

Despite Brian Armstrong's plans for the new exchange to become the world's largest, it will initially be open only to US customers who reside in the states in which Coinbase is believed to have acquired regulatory approval. The exact number of those states remain unknown although the WSJ article claims that California as well as New York are amongst them.

As is typical of most bitcoin/fiat intermediaries when promoting their products, the new exchange is being touted as a first and a means to bring legitimacy to Bitcoin.