Ripple acquired Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm, for $1.25 billion in a deal announced on April 8, 2025. This marks one of the largest acquisitions in the crypto industry, positioning Ripple as the first crypto company to own a global, multi-asset prime broker. The move aims to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), with Hidden Road leveraging Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral and migrating post-trade activities to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by Q3 2025.
Hidden Road’s integration with XRPL will enable institutional clients to use Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral for trading across asset classes like FX, commodities, equities, and crypto. This could drive higher transaction volumes on XRPL as traditional finance firms engage with DeFi. Hidden Road plans to migrate its post-trade activities, including collateral management and clearing, to XRPL. This shift will likely enhance XRPL’s utility for high-frequency, high-volume financial operations, boosting its scalability and relevance in global markets.
The use of RLUSD on XRPL for Hidden Road’s prime brokerage services strengthens the ledger’s role in stablecoin-based transactions, potentially attracting more DeFi and TradFi applications to the ecosystem. With Hidden Road’s global client base, XRPL could see increased network activity, including more wallet activations and smart contract deployments, as institutional flows leverage its fast, low-cost transactions.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 17 (June 9 – Sept 6, 2025) today for early bird discounts. Do annual for access to Blucera.com.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register to become a better CEO or Director with Tekedia CEO & Director Program.
The acquisition, pending approvals, aligns XRPL with regulated financial frameworks, potentially making it more appealing to risk-averse institutions wary of decentralized platforms. Overall, the deal positions XRPL as a critical infrastructure layer bridging centralized and decentralized finance, likely increasing its transaction throughput and ecosystem diversity by Q3 2025 when the acquisition is expected to close.
By integrating Hidden Road’s prime brokerage capabilities, XRPL becomes a pivotal platform for institutional players to access DeFi using RLUSD as collateral. This could accelerate mainstream adoption of XRPL for cross-asset trading, blending traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized systems. Migrating Hidden Road’s post-trade activities (e.g., clearing and collateral management) to XRPL will likely drive higher transaction throughput. Institutional flows could significantly boost daily active addresses and smart contract interactions on the ledger.
RLUSD’s role as a collateral asset on XRPL strengthens its stablecoin utility. This may attract more developers and financial institutions to build or integrate applications, expanding XRPL’s decentralized app (dApp) ecosystem. The acquisition positions XRPL as a leader in bridging crypto and global markets, potentially outpacing rival blockchains like Ethereum or Solana in institutional use cases. XRPL’s low-cost, high-speed transactions could become a go-to for prime brokerage services.
Operating under Hidden Road’s regulated framework (with approvals pending), XRPL could gain trust from risk-averse institutions, reducing barriers to adoption and enhancing its reputation as a compliant blockchain. Greater XRPL utility may drive demand for XRP, as it’s the native token for transactions and liquidity. While price speculation isn’t guaranteed, increased institutional activity could positively influence XRP’s market perception.
The deal may spur new XRPL-based financial products, such as tokenized assets or automated market makers, leveraging Hidden Road’s client base and XRPL’s infrastructure. By Q3 2025, when the deal is expected to close, XRPL could emerge as a critical backbone for global financial operations, with ripple effects across adoption, innovation, and market dynamics.
