In a revealing statement, Jake Claver, the CEO of Digital Ascension Group, disclosed that Ripple has spent approximately $2.45 billion on various acquisitions over the last seven months. Claver described this massive investment as a strategic move to create what he terms the “Amazon of financial infrastructure,” emphasizing a vertically integrated system utilizing XRP and the company’s RLUSD stablecoin as its settlement layer.
In a recent video, Claver elaborated on the specifics of Ripple’s acquisition strategy, claiming that these purchases serve as “pillars for a master plan.” He drew a parallel to Amazon’s success, noting that the tech giant established its dominance by owning essential infrastructure rather than merely selling products.
One of the most significant achievements in this strategy was the $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road in April, which has since been rebranded as “Ripple Prime.” Claver indicated that Hidden Road has an impressive clientele, serving over 300 institutional clients and facilitating more than $3 trillion in transactions in 2024. He further asserted that the business has experienced a threefold growth since the announcement of the acquisition.
Claver highlighted additional acquisitions that contribute to Ripple’s expansive strategy, including:
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Rail: Acquired for approximately $200 million in August 2025, it is positioned as a stablecoin payments platform anticipated to handle over 10% of a $36 billion global B2B stablecoin payments market.
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GTreasury: This $1 billion deal was announced in October and finalized in December, with the company seeing an impressive annual payment volume of $12.5 trillion.
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Palisade: Announced in November with undisclosed terms, this acquisition is framed as a wallet-as-a-service operational infrastructure.
Claver underscored the importance of owning infrastructure in achieving structural advantages such as reduced marginal costs, accelerated iteration, and increased switching costs once institutions integrate their services. He noted that this level of vertical integration is relatively rare in financial services, where most firms tend to specialize in one layer or partner with others for the remainder.
An intriguing aspect of this strategy is Hidden Road’s plan to utilize RLUSD as collateral across its prime brokerage products. Claver believes this will stimulate organic demand for the stablecoin through its adoption by institutional clients. He articulated a vision for Ripple’s future characterized by “winner-take-all dynamics,” where the value of a large network grows exponentially compared to smaller competitors.
This development is part of a broader narrative unfolding within the financial and crypto sectors, particularly as institutions increasingly look to leverage blockchain technology and stablecoin infrastructure in their operations.
