- Ripple (XRP) acquired Hidden Road, a prime broker clearing $3 trillion yearly for over 300 major financial institutions, for $1.25 billion, aiming to integrate crypto efficiencies with traditional markets.
- Hidden Road will utilize the XRP Ledger for faster trade clearing and RLUSD as collateral across its services, enhancing Ripple’s mission for instant, low-cost value movement in cross-asset trading.
- Supported by Ripple’s balance sheet, the deal positions Hidden Road to become the largest non-bank prime broker globally, bridging crypto and conventional finance with unprecedented scale.
Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a multi-asset prime broker, marks a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency firm, positioning it to bridge the divide between traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem. Announced by CEO Brad Garlinghouse on X, the deal leverages Hidden Road’s established role as a trusted intermediary, clearing $3 trillion annually for over 300 top-tier financial institutions, including hedge funds, market makers, and quant traders. With Ripple already a long-standing client, this acquisition integrates Hidden Road’s expertise into Ripple’s vision of enhancing global value transfer through XRP and the XRP Ledger, technologies designed for instant, scalable, and cost-efficient transactions.
Garlinghouse emphasized that the deal’s true value lies not in its hefty price tag – one of the largest in crypto history – but in its potential to unlock access to traditional markets for crypto players and introduce crypto efficiencies to conventional finance. Hidden Road will adopt the XRP Ledger to clear a portion of trades, slashing settlement times from under 24 hours on fiat rails to near-instantaneous processing, while also employing Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, as collateral across its prime brokerage services, spanning both crypto and traditional assets. This strategic use of Ripple’s tech stack aims to capitalize on Hidden Road’s existing client base and infrastructure, which has historically been the domain of banks, to redefine how financial institutions move and manage capital.
Backed by Ripple’s substantial balance sheet, Hidden Road is poised to scale its operations dramatically, targeting the status of the world’s largest non-bank prime broker. The acquisition aligns with Ripple’s broader mission to streamline cross-border and cross-asset transactions, areas where XRP excels due to its low-cost, high-speed capabilities. By merging Hidden Road’s $3 trillion annual clearing volume with Ripple’s blockchain innovations, the deal not only amplifies Hidden Road’s capacity to serve its growing pipeline but also signals a transformative step toward mainstream adoption of crypto solutions in institutional finance, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape for prime brokerage services globally.
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