Ripple is set to acquire crypto-friendly prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest acquisitions in the digital asset industry. The deal positions Ripple as the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker, offering institutional services across FX, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income.
Hidden Road currently clears $3 trillion annually for more than 300 top-tier institutional clients. Ripple, already an investor and customer of Hidden Road, plans to inject billions into the business to provide immediate scale and global reach.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the significance of the move amid a shifting regulatory environment in the U.S.:
“We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption… We’re continuing to pursue opportunities to massively transform the space, leveraging our position and the strengths of XRP.”
The acquisition further boosts Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD, which will become the first stablecoin enabling cross-margining between digital and traditional asset markets. RLUSD is already used by Hidden Road as collateral for prime brokerage services, reinforcing its enterprise-grade utility.
As part of the deal, Hidden Road will:
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Migrate post-trade activities to Ripple’s XRPL DeFi blockchain
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Incorporate Ripple Payments to improve liquidity
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Offer Ripple-based digital asset custody to institutional clients
Hidden Road founder and CEO Marc Asch added:
“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.”
The acquisition comes as Standard Chartered forecasts a potential surge in Ripple’s digital token XRP to $12.50 by 2028, up from its current $1.94.