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Blockchain payments company Ripple has agreed to acquire crypto-friendly prime brokerage company Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion. It is one of the biggest deals in digital assets to date. The deal makes Ripple the world's largest non-bank prime broker, solidifying its hold on the developing consolidation between crypto and traditional finance.
Announced on April 8, the deal allows Ripple to run a global, multi-asset prime broker for the first time. Hidden Road currently clears more than US$3 trillion per year across more than 300 institutional investors. Ripple plans to scale on this basis to provide streamlined services using its blockchain-based infrastructure.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized that Hidden Road will start settling part of its trades through the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The company will also leverage Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, which was released in December 2024, as collateral. This integration will reduce settlement times significantly by substituting fiat rails with real-time blockchain settlement.
“This transaction represents a one-time chance for crypto to gain entry into the largest and most trusted legacy markets," remarked Garlinghouse on X in the following post:
At Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Ripple president Monica Long reiterated the firm's first-priority strategy for M&A. Denying the rumors of an IPO, Long confirmed that Ripple is more interested in organic expansion and strategic acquisitions than public offerings.
"We are certainly an M&A player today. IPO isn't our growth constraint," she said.
The Ripple Hidden Road deal occurs at a critical juncture as the US goes through massive regulatory shifts. Garlinghouse said that changes in leadership at the SEC have finally opened up the US market to digital asset companies.
“We are at an inflection point for digital asset adoption. With these tailwinds, we’re accelerating our mission to transform finance,” he said.
Hidden Road’s CEO Marc Asch expressed optimism about the future, citing growing access to risk capital, licenses, and new markets as key outcomes of the deal.
This Ripple deal supports the company’s increasing role in institutional crypto services. It also highlights the larger evolution of crypto markets where traditional finance and blockchain technology are beginning to intersect.
