Ripple has confirmed plans to acquire Hidden Road for $1.25bn in a move that positions it as the first cryptocurrency firm to operate a global, multi-asset prime broker.
The acquisition is set to significantly extend Ripple’s reach in institutional financial markets and represents one of the largest transactions in the digital assets sector to date.
Hidden Road, a prime broker serving institutional clients, facilitates clearing, brokerage, and financing services across foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income.
The firm currently clears approximately $3 trillion annually and maintains relationships with more than 300 institutional clients. Ripple’s acquisition will allow Hidden Road to scale its operations with the support of a stronger balance sheet.
The transaction aims to strengthen Ripple’s institutional offering by integrating Hidden Road’s services into its broader digital asset infrastructure.
According to Ripple, this acquisition supports the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem by establishing critical prime brokerage capabilities that mirror the services traditionally found in legacy finance.
Ripple indicated that Hidden Road will use Ripple USD (RLUSD) as collateral across its prime brokerage products. As a result, RLUSD will be positioned to serve as the first stablecoin enabling efficient cross-margining between traditional and digital asset markets.
This move is said to reinforce RLUSD’s enterprise positioning and expand its utility across financial ecosystems.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said: “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption – 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.
“With these tailwinds, we are continuing to pursue opportunities to massively transform the space, leveraging our unique position and strengths of XRP to accelerate our business and enhance our current solutions and technology.”
Post-transaction, Hidden Road intends to shift its post-trade operations onto the XRP Ledger (XRPL), Ripple’s decentralised blockchain. This migration is expected to reduce operational costs and improve process efficiencies.
Hidden Road founder and CEO Marc Asch said: “With new resources, licenses, and added risk capital, this deal will unlock significant growth in Hidden Road’s business, allowing us to increase capacity to our customer base, expand into new products, and service more markets and asset classes.
”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.”
Ripple also plans to leverage the acquisition to optimise its cross-border payments solution, Ripple Payments, and offer institutional-grade custody services to clients of Hidden Road.
Ripple’s experience in the digital asset industry spans over a decade, and it currently holds more than 60 regulatory licences and registrations worldwide. The company described its infrastructure as compliant, secure, and capable of supporting the needs of financial institutions looking to tokenise, store, and move digital assets at scale.
The company is already familiar with Hidden Road’s platform, having previously invested in the firm’s Series B funding round and used its services as a client. Ripple stated that the transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to regulatory clearance.
Hidden Road recently expanded its offerings with the launch of a fixed income prime brokerage platform. The firm secured approval as a Fixed Income Clearing Corporation clearing member and introduced services focused on fixed income repo and global funding.
