Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion, Expanding Institutional Crypto Services

Ripple has announced its acquisition of Hidden Road, a leading global prime broker, for $1.25 billion. This strategic move positions Ripple as the first crypto company to control a worldwide multi-asset prime broker, significantly enhancing its ability to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

The acquisition includes the integration of RLUSD, Ripple's enterprise-grade USD-backed stablecoin, which will enable cross-margining between crypto and conventional markets. This feature is expected to increase institutional access to digital assets and provide a more seamless experience for institutional clients.

Hidden Road, which currently clears over $3 trillion in annual trading volume across more than 300 top-tier institutions, will benefit from Ripple's financial support to expand its capacity and become the largest non-bank prime broker globally. The transaction also allows Ripple to strengthen its value proposition in the institutional crypto sector by expanding its product portfolio to include RLUSD directly into prime brokerage operations.

Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, highlighted the significance of this acquisition, stating that it marks an inflection point where institutional use of crypto is accelerating. The purchase enables Ripple to provide the volume and quality of services that traditional banking demands, paving the way for the next stage of expansion in the digital asset market.

One of the key features of the acquisition is the inclusion of RLUSD, which will serve as collateral for prime brokerage activities. This stablecoin will allow for cross-margining between digital assets and conventional securities, providing institutional clients with access to liquidity, the ability to hedge positions, and better capital management without the delays associated with fiat settlement.

Additionally, Hidden Road will migrate its post-trade processes to Ripple's XRP Ledger (XRPL), a high-throughput, low-cost, and scalable blockchain network. This move is expected to reduce costs and improve settlement efficiency for Hidden Road, while also supporting Ripple's goal of building institutional-grade decentralized financial infrastructure on XRPL.

Ripple has been actively expanding its institutional presence, with over ten years of experience in digital asset compliance, settlement, and infrastructure. The company has more than 60 regulatory licenses across various jurisdictions and has been a long-time client of Hidden Road, participating in its Series B fundraising round. This familiarity with Hidden Road's risk management and operational controls facilitated the acquisition.

Hidden Road's CEO, Marc Asch, expressed optimism about the acquisition, noting that Ripple's resources and network will enable Hidden Road to scale quickly, enter new markets, and provide clients with a seamless blend of digital and conventional asset exposure.

This acquisition positions Ripple and Hidden Road to offer premier brokerage services with institutional legitimacy, a feature that has been lacking in the crypto sector. Traditional financial actors are accustomed to intermediaries providing services such as loans, margin, clearing, and custody—roles historically performed by banks. Ripple's acquisition allows it to bring this concept into the cryptocurrency era, potentially spurring a larger movement toward institutional adoption of crypto-native infrastructure.

Ripple's strategic combination of stablecoins, blockchain settlement, and conventional market access could serve as a model for how digital assets go mainstream, not only as investment vehicles but also as instruments that alter the operation of global finance. The acquisition is expected to finalize in the coming months, pending regulatory clearances.