Good day everyone,
I hope you are all having a good day, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the news of Ripple (XRP) agreeing to acquire a major prime brokerage known as 'Hidden Road.'
Ripple Agrees to Acquire 'Hidden Road'
Ripple have moved into a new direction as they have acquired a major prime brokerage known as Hidden Road. The move will combine classic finance practices with digital asset strategies and open a new path for efficient financial services. The agreement was made for $1.25 billion as Ripple expand their reach into institutional finance while putting themselves into a position to be the centre of cross-market infrastructure.
The news came as a press release announced the Ripple acquisition, calling it one of the largest in the digital asset space and marking it as the first crypto firm to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. Hidden Road was founded in 2018 and provides institutional clients with services such as prime brokerage, clearing, and financing across FX, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income. It currently clears more than $3 trillion annually across markets with over 300 institutional customers, including hedge funds.
Ripple have an ongoing strategy involving connecting traditional finance, also known as TradFi, with decentralised finance which is known as DeFi. Ripple’s backing is expected to help Hidden Road grow its operations and global presence as they plan to invest capital into Hidden Road to expand its services and strengthen its prime brokerage offering. CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, stated:
“We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption. With regulatory clarity in the U.S. emerging and maturing market infrastructure, we’re accelerating our push to reshape finance.”
There are also plans afoot from Ripple to integrate their stablecoin RLUSD into Hidden Road’s collateral system. This would become the first stablecoin used for cross-margining between digital and traditional markets and would mark a move which could help to strengthen its adoption as a USD-backed collateral asset for institutions. There will also be a migration of Hidden Road's post-trade operations to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) which is aimed at helping to improve efficiency. Marc Asch, Founder and CEO of Hidden Road, stated:
“With new resources and risk capital, we’ll unlock massive growth—expanding capacity, products, and reach across asset classes. Ripple’s infrastructure and compliance-first approach align perfectly with our mission.”
The deal will will one of the largest deals in the digital asset space to date, topping Stripe’s $1.1 billion February deal to buy Bridge, a platform that makes it easier for businesses to take payment via stablecoins. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the deal came together after Hidden Road found itself “constrained” in growth due to balance sheet limitations and began looking for external capital. He stated:
“This is a big deal for Ripple — but also a big deal for the industry. As the entire crypto industry gets more into traditional finance, we need top tier infrastructure to be able to support the financial institutions that want to come in.”
Back in 2024 Ripple was valued at $11.3 billion in a share buyback, and in March of this year they managed to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case as Ripple agreed to pay a $50 million penalty, down from the original $125 million penalty. The SEC also requested that an injunction preventing Ripple from selling XRP to institutional investors be removed.
https://x.com/Ripple/status/1909577621291385093
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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