Ripple just made a power move that could shake up the digital asset world. The company’s snapping up prime brokerage firm Hidden Road in a massive $1.25 billion deal — and that’s not just big, it’s historic. With this acquisition, Ripple became the first crypto player to fully own and run a global, multi-asset prime broker. That’s a huge leap toward blending traditional finance with the fast-evolving digital space. And Hidden Road? It’s no ordinary name.
The firm’s been climbing the ranks fast, giving institutional clients seamless access to everything from foreign exchange and crypto to swaps and fixed income — all under one roof. Right now, it processes an eye-watering $3 trillion every year and works with more than 300 of the world’s top financial institutions. This acquisition comes at a critical moment. As the U.S. crypto regulatory environment starts to clear up, Ripple sees a fresh window for serious institutional growth.
“We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. “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.” Backed by Ripple’s deep balance sheet and regulatory muscle, with over 60 licenses globally, Hidden Road will now have the firepower to expand aggressively, take on more markets, and handle bigger client demands.
This deal also puts Ripple’s upcoming stablecoin, RLUSD, into the spotlight. Hidden Road plans to use it as collateral for trading products — making it the first USD-backed stablecoin to support cross-margining between crypto and traditional finance. There’s more: Hidden Road’s post-trade operations will now move to XRPL, Ripple’s native blockchain.
That shift could cut costs and make the backend more efficient. Plus, Ripple sees new ways to plug Hidden Road’s services into its cross-border payments platform and boost its custody offerings for institutional clients. Marc Asch, Hidden Road’s CEO, said the deal will unlock serious growth “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.”
