tl;dr
Hidden Road, a digital asset and foreign exchange prime brokerage recently acquired by Ripple for $1.25 billion, has obtained a US broker-dealer license to expand its institutional services. This license allows Hidden Road to offer prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services across fixed-incom...
Ripple-owned Hidden Road has secured a US broker-dealer license, enabling expanded prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services for institutional investors across multiple asset classes.
This license advances Hidden Road’s goal to become a full-service, non-bank brokerage, extending its reach beyond digital assets into traditional fixed-income markets.
Hidden Road’s broker-dealer status allows offering fixed-income repurchase agreements, global funding, and clearing services, supporting Ripple’s strategy to provide enterprise-grade financial tools at scale.
Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road marks the largest deal in its history, positioning Ripple as the first crypto-native firm with a multi-asset prime brokerage platform and institutional network.
The integration aims to accelerate blockchain adoption in finance by deploying Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin for collateral and using the XRP Ledger to reduce trade settlement times and costs.
Hidden Road, a digital asset and foreign exchange prime brokerage recently acquired by Ripple for $1.25 billion, has obtained a US broker-dealer license to expand its institutional services.
This license allows Hidden Road to offer prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services across fixed-income and other traditional asset classes, extending beyond digital assets.
The approval supports Ripple's goal of providing enterprise-grade financial tools, including cross-border payments and custody services.
Hidden Road will use Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin as collateral and the XRP Ledger to enable faster trade settlements and reduce costs, enhancing institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial services.
Noel Kimmel, President of Hidden Road, said the broker-dealer license marks a major milestone toward becoming a full-service, non-bank brokerage across asset classes.
The approval extends Hidden Road’s reach beyond digital assets and foreign exchange into traditional markets, including fixed income, where it recently became a Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) clearing member.
Following the 2022 FTX collapse, institutional demand for prime brokerage services offering counterparty risk mitigation surged, boosting Hidden Road’s profile.
The new broker-dealer status enables Hidden Road to offer fixed-income repurchase agreements, global funding services, and clearing capabilities across new asset classes within the year.
This supports Ripple’s broader objective of delivering enterprise-grade financial tools, spanning cross-border payments and advanced custody services, to institutional clients at scale.
Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, announced on April 8, is the largest in Ripple’s history.
The deal makes Ripple the first crypto-native firm to own and operate a multi-asset prime brokerage platform with an established institutional network.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the acquisition a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain ecosystems.
The integration will accelerate institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial services by expanding offerings into trade clearing, financing, custody, and risk management.
Ripple plans to deploy its RLUSD stablecoin as collateral for cross-asset trades and use the XRP Ledger to facilitate faster trade settlements, aiming to reduce settlement times from hours to minutes and cut operational costs.