Ripple has successfully completed its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, marking a significant milestone as the first crypto company to own a global prime broker. The acquisition transforms Hidden Road into Ripple Prime, which has reportedly tripled its business since the announcement of the deal earlier this year.
The newly branded Ripple Prime will cater to institutional needs by providing a range of services including clearing, prime brokerage, and financing across various asset classes such as foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income. This move is indicative of crypto’s deepening integration within the landscape of institutional finance. Prime brokers play a crucial role in professional trading, determining access to leverage, what qualifies as collateral, and how risks are managed. With the acquisition, Ripple positions itself not only as a market participant but also as a standard-setter for the treatment of cryptocurrencies like XRP and its stablecoin, RLUSD.
In the wake of the acquisition, XRP has seen an uptick, rising by 8% to reach $2.48 over the past week. Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, emphasized the transformative potential of this acquisition, stating that it represents an “inflection point” for digital asset adoption. He further noted that the U.S. market is now more accessible than ever, as regulatory challenges previously posed by the SEC have begun to dissipate.
Central to this deal is the enhanced utility of Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD. As part of Ripple Prime’s offerings, RLUSD is now utilized as collateral for prime brokerage products. Certain customers within the derivatives space are already holding their balances in RLUSD, which has garnered attention for its regulatory compliance. Recently, Bluechip ranked RLUSD as the top stablecoin for stability, governance, and asset backing—a noteworthy accolade, although RLUSD currently holds a modest market presence. With a market value of approximately $898 million, RLUSD ranks 20th in the stablecoin sector, far behind leading entities like Tether and USDC.
Ripple has also appointed The Bank of New York Mellon as the primary reserve custodian for RLUSD, reinforcing its commitment to meet institutional and regulatory standards.
The acquisition of Hidden Road is part of Ripple’s broader strategy, as it has pursued an aggressive expansion with five major acquisitions in the last two years. Recent moves include a planned $1 billion acquisition of treasury management system provider GTreasury and previous purchases such as stablecoin-powered payment platform Rail, Standard Custody, and Metaco.
Hidden Road brings substantial scale to Ripple, reportedly clearing $3 trillion annually across various markets and serving more than 300 institutional clients. This acquisition signals Ripple’s forward momentum in shaping the future of crypto finance while enhancing its competitive standing within the institutional sector.
