In a groundbreaking move, Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, has announced its plans to acquire Hidden Road, a multi-asset prime brokerage firm, for a staggering $1.25 billion.
This deal, one of the largest in crypto history, is set to redefine the boundaries between traditional finance and the crypto world. By acquiring Hidden Road, Ripple is poised to become the first crypto-native firm to own and operate a global prime broker. The acquisition, which is expected to close in the coming months, is yet to be approved by regulators.
Bridging the Gap between Crypto and Traditional Markets
As seen in Ripple’s statement about the acquisition, Ripple will “inject billions of dollars of capital to provide immediate scale and satisfy the demand for Hidden Road’s prime brokerage.” Ripple will pay the $1.25 billion acquisition price in cash as well as XRP and stock.
A strategic move, this deal will enable Ripple to offer prime brokerage services, including trading, custody, financing, and clearing, to hedge funds and financial institutions. The acquisition is expected to unlock significant growth for Hidden Road, allowing it to expand into new markets and product lines.
Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, described the acquisition as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” that will give crypto companies access to the largest and most trusted traditional markets. “Ripple needs to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to appeal and expand to a larger segment of the biggest bulge bracket institutions,” Garlinghouse said.
The deal will also enhance Ripple’s stablecoin strategy, with Hidden Road utilizing Ripple’s USD stablecoin (RLUSD) as collateral across its prime brokerage services. This will make RLUSD “the first stablecoin to enable efficient cross-margining between digital assets and traditional markets, reinforcing its position as a premium enterprise-grade USD-backed stablecoin”, according to Ripple’s statement.
Read also: $RLUSD Launch: Ripple gets final approval from NYDFS.
Hidden Road will also explore improving settlements by using the blockchain solution, XRP Ledger. Specifically, Hidden Road will “migrate post-trade activity across XRP Ledger (XRPL) demonstrating its potential as the go-to blockchain for institutional decentralized finance (DeFi).”
With the greenlight by the Donald Trump administration, a number of financial institutions in the United States are gradually embracing crypto. Bank of New York Mellon, Fidelity Bank, and Gamestop are on this developing list. This renewed interest partly sparked interest in Hidden Road as a broker.
“We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption – the US market is effectively open for the first time due to the regulatory overhang of the former SEC coming to an end, and the market is maturing to address the needs of traditional finance,” Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, is quoted in the statement. “With these tailwinds, we are continuing to pursue opportunities to massively transform the space, leveraging our unique position and strengths of XRP to accelerate our business and enhance our current solutions and technology.”
Similarly, Marc Asch, Founder and CEO of Hidden Road, expressed his confidence that “[w]ith new resources, licenses, and added risk capital, this deal will unlock significant growth in Hidden Road’s business, allowing us to increase capacity to our customer base, expand into new products, and service more markets and asset classes.”
Read also: XRP: US SEC drops years-long case against Ripple.
Significance of the Deal on the Crypto Market and Financial Landscape
Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, if eventually approved by the relevant authorities, is likely to supercharge XRP’s utility. If Hidden Road integrates XRP and the XRP Ledger to expedite trade settlement and enhance efficiency as planned, this integration could potentially make XRP a crucial component in traditional markets. It will be a big boost for XRP in the financial landscape, positively impacting on XRP price in the crypto market.
The deal could also pave the way for other crypto companies to explore similar partnerships, driving growth and adoption in the sector. Significantly, this could be a great bridge between the crypto industry and the traditional financial industry which includes banks, hedge funds, and private equity firms. With the U.S. market now more open to crypto, the future looks bright for Ripple and the wider industry.
“Together with Ripple, we’re bringing the same level of trust and reliability that institutional clients are accustomed to in traditional markets — designed and optimized for a digital world,” Asch said.
Founded in 2018 by Marc Asch, Hidden Road provides cryptocurrency and foreign exchange brokerage services. It offers institutions “a one-stop-shop of advanced services including clearing, prime brokerage, and financing across foreign exchange (FX), digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income.” In 2022, Hidden Road raised $50 million in a Series A with investors including Castle Island Ventures, Citadel Securities, and Coinbase Ventures. As stated by Ripple, Ripple participated in Hidden Road’s Series B and is a customer of its platform. In 2024 alone, Hidden Road facilitated transfers worth $3 trillion.
Read also: XRP Price Surges as Ripple Settles with U.S SEC; CEO Credits Trump
Looking closely at the significance of the acquisition deal, CAB spoke with two industry experts to gain insight into this acquisition and its implications.
Chiagozie Iwu, Head of Product and Technology at Ledig Technologies, believes that Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is a strategic move that bridges traditional finance and crypto. “Hidden Road is a prime brokerage that operates in a traditional manner but has crypto exposure and is crypto-tolerant, he said. “This acquisition shows that Ripple has a long game when it comes to crypto.”
Speaking about how the acquisition fits into Ripple’s overall strategy, Iwu observed that “Ripple has been one of the few companies that have actually brought in real traditional finance use cases into the DeFi world and crypto at large. Their integration into the banking system and post-banking settlements has been remarkable. The launch of RLUSD, their stablecoin, also highlights their focus on banking payments utility.”
But what potential opportunities arise from this acquisition? Responding, Iwu noted that this acquisition “suggests that Ripple has a long-term strategy of going beyond payments and into non-banks, including securities. Hidden Road’s activities in brokerages of securities and other assets indicate that Ripple may be positioning itself to bridge securities or even securitization on its blockchain. I wouldn’t be surprised if their next strategy involves building or acquiring a securitization system.”
Regarding how this acquisition compares to other companies in the space, Iwu observed that Ripple is one of the big brands in the space that are building solutions with real use cases and impact. “Companies like Ripple, Tether, and others are building use cases that are actually impacting traditional finance. They’re solving real problems in payments, remittances, foreign exchange, and more. These companies are few and far between, and Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is a significant development in this regard.”
In terms of the potential impact the acquisition will have on the crypto ecosystem, Iwu is confident that it “will have a huge impact on the crypto ecosystem. It’s a testament to Ripple’s commitment to building practical use cases that drive adoption. As someone who has been following the space, I think this move will further establish Ripple as a leader in the industry.”
Similarly, Rume Dominic, Founder/CEO of Vorem and author of Wealth of The Blockchain and other notable works , believes that Ripple has made a strong statement with the acquisition of Hidden Road. “This is not just a deal—it’s a declaration,” Dominic asserted.
“Ripple stepping into the prime brokerage space signals the future we’ve always seen coming: a world where crypto isn’t the outsider, but the infrastructure. This move dissolves old lines between traditional finance and blockchain innovation. It’s bold. It’s strategic. And it’s exactly the kind of disruption the global economy needs. The age of decentralized dominance is here. Let’s build forward.”
Read also: US SEC proposes XRP as a Strategic Financial Asset.
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