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Ripple Buys Broker Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion, CTO Schwartz Calls it ‘Defining Moment’ for XRPL
- Ripple has purchased prime broker Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion, making it the first crypto-native company to own a global multi-asset broker.
- CTO David Schwartz highlights that Hidden Road’s US$10 billion daily clearing volume could move to the XRP Ledger, reducing settlement times from 24 hours.
- The acquisition aims to make Hidden Road “the largest non-bank prime broker globally” while expanding Ripple’s presence in the now more receptive US market.
- Ripple USD stablecoin will be integrated as collateral in Hidden Road’s products, enabling cross-margining between digital and traditional markets.
Ripple Labs, a digital ledger pioneer and survivor of US regulatory overreach, has just secured a deal to acquire the crypto-friendly broker Hidden Road.
In a statement from April 8, Ripple said it will be buying prime broker Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion (AU$2.08 billion) in what will be one of the biggest mergers in the crypto world so far.
XRPL to Boost Clearing on Hidden Road, Says Schwartz
Ripple Chief Technology Officer (CTO) David Schwartz called the deal a ‘defining moment’ for the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
Schwartz said Hidden Road “clears upward” of US$10 billion (AU$16.79 billion) daily with 50 million transactions. According to the Ripple CTO, these transactions can be pending for as long as 24 hours while awaiting settlement.
Related: Battle Lines Drawn: China vs. Trump Tariffs While Stagflation Fears Rattle Crypto Markets
Enter XRPL, because Ripple said Hidden Road will be using the ledger for “post-trade activity”:
Now imagine even a portion of that activity on the XRP Ledger – and that’s exactly what Hidden Road plans on doing – not to mention future use of collateral and real-world assets tokenized on the XRPL.
David Schwartz, Ripple CTO However, some users on Crypto Twitter questioned whether this would do anything for the price of XRP:
What impact will this have on the price of $XRP? ZERO!
— Ivo Knébl (@IvoKnebl) April 8, 2025
Xrp price target?
— Russell Katz (@RussellKatz7) April 8, 2025
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the price of XRP is down in line with the current bearish trend. The fourth-largest coin dropped 5.74% on the daily and 16.34% on the weekly chart, currently trading for US$1.78 (AU$2.99).
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Ripple’s Ambitious Plans to Make Hidden Road “Largest Non-Bank Broker”
The acquisition of Hidden Road – of which Ripple has been a customer for years – will make the San Francisco-based firm the first crypto-native company to own a global broker which operates in a multi-asset world.
Related: Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone Predicts BTC Correction to $10k Amid Market Turmoil
As per the Ripple statement, Hidden Road clears US$3 trillion (AU$5.05 trillion) annually and has over 300 “top institutional” clients. Ripple is hoping to boost Hidden Road’s capacity to “become the largest non-bank prime broker globally”.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the US market is “effectively open for the first time”, following the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ending its war on crypto.
He added how this would help Ripple to use XRP to build their business:
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.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO Ripple’s Stablecoin to Benefit from Acquisition
The Hidden Road purchase will also boost Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD as a key USD-backed stablecoin, utilised as collateral in the broker’s products and enabling cross-margining between digital and traditional markets.
Ripple will also use the XRPL integration discussed above to improve its Ripple Payments solution and provide advanced custody services for Hidden Road’s clients.
Marc Asch, the founder and CEO of Hidden Road said the “deal will unlock significant growth in Hidden Road’s business” and let them expand into new markets with more customers and new products.
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.
Marc Asch, founder and CEO of Hidden Road
Read more: Australia Cracks Down on Crypto Scams, Winds Up 95 Companies
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
