Ripple has officially finalized its acquisition of global prime broker Hidden Road, now rebranded as Ripple Prime. The announcement has positively influenced XRP, the native token of Ripple’s payment network, which saw a significant price increase on Friday. XRP was trading around $2.50, marking a rise of approximately 5% on the day and an overall increase of 8% over the past week. This uptick followed a challenging week for the cryptocurrency market.
After the announcement of the $1.25 billion acquisition earlier this year, Ripple reported that Ripple Prime’s business had tripled in growth. The integration of RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin with a market capitalization nearing $899 million, is also expected to play a crucial role on the platform, as it is increasingly used as collateral by institutional clients. This rebranding signifies a landmark development in the crypto landscape, as it marks the first instance of a crypto company owning and operating a global, multi-asset prime brokerage platform. Ripple’s strategic move not only highlights its ambition to extend beyond payments but also aims to enhance the real-world utility of XRP and increase the trust surrounding RLUSD among institutions.
According to Ripple’s blog post, the company’s foundational digital asset infrastructure—encompassing payments, crypto custody, and stablecoins—will synergize with the offerings of Ripple Prime. The company plans to harness blockchain capabilities in the future to refine operations and enhance cost efficiency.
This acquisition follows several others by Ripple, including the addition of treasury management system provider GTreasury just last week, as well as acquisitions of Rail, Standard Custody, and Metaco over the past several months. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the vital role of payments in the crypto sector, reiterating that the complexities of traditional infrastructure present an opportunity for decentralized financial technologies.
In a significant legal development, Ripple also recently concluded its protracted legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking a hopeful turning point for the company after five years of contestation. These recent moves signal Ripple’s determination to scale its operations significantly and affirm its position within the institutional finance space.
