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Ripple, a leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, has announced the acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest transactions in the digital assets space to date.
The acquisition, announced today, will make Ripple the first cryptocurrency company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. Hidden Road currently clears $3 trillion annually across markets with more than 300 institutional customers and is described as one of the fastest-growing prime brokers globally.
"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," said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. "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."
Through the acquisition, Ripple aims to inject billions of dollars of capital to expand Hidden Road's prime brokerage, clearing and financing platform. The deal also positions Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, as the first stablecoin to enable efficient cross-margining between digital assets and traditional markets, reinforcing its position as an enterprise-grade USD-backed stablecoin.
Hidden Road will migrate its post-trade activity across the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which Ripple suggests will demonstrate the blockchain's potential as the preferred option for institutional decentralised finance. Additionally, Ripple plans to optimise costs and liquidity in its cross-border payments solution and provide custody services to Hidden Road's customers.
"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," said Marc Asch, Founder and CEO of Hidden Road. "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, which holds over 60 regulatory licences and registrations in various jurisdictions, was previously an investor in Hidden Road's Series B funding round and is a customer of its platform. The deal is expected to close in the coming months, subject to regulatory approvals.
