XRP Surges 14.41% as Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for Institutional Expansion

XRP's latest price was $2.05, up 14.414% in the last 24 hours. This surge in price and trading volume follows the debut of the first U.S.-based XRP ETF, a development that has reawakened investor interest and helped shift sentiment away from recent market fears. The ETF’s design, based on swaps that mirror XRP’s performance rather than direct holdings, still appears to be sufficient to spark renewed activity.

Ripple has made a significant move to expand its presence in institutional finance with the acquisition of Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage platform. This strategic deal, announced on April 8, positions Ripple as the first crypto-native company to own and manage a full-spectrum, multi-asset prime brokerage firm. The acquisition is expected to redefine the role of XRP in institutional markets by integrating Ripple’s own RLUSD stablecoin and settling transactions via the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This could potentially trigger a significant rise in utility-driven demand for XRP.

Jake Claver, Managing Director at Digital Ascension Group, highlighted the implications of this acquisition. Hidden Road’s network spans over 300 institutional clients and facilitates an impressive $10 billion in daily trade volume, all of which could soon leverage the XRP Ledger for faster, cheaper settlement. This development is monumental as every transaction on the XRPL requires XRP to function. As institutions onboard into the Ripple ecosystem, their day-to-day operations, ranging from trade settlements to collateral management, will necessitate XRP holdings, creating a direct link between institutional usage and XRP demand.

A key piece of the integration is RLUSD, Ripple’s recently launched stablecoin. It will serve as the primary collateral instrument within Hidden Road’s operations. RLUSD enables cross-margining across both crypto and traditional markets, offering institutions a unified framework for capital efficiency. Together, XRP and RLUSD form the backbone of a new institutional finance architecture, designed for speed, liquidity, and seamless interoperability between asset classes.

The scale of opportunity now tethered to the XRPL is significant. With Hidden Road processing over $3 trillion in annual trade flows, even a conservative migration of that volume onto the XRPL could deliver an exponential impact on XRP’s utility, liquidity, and valuation. Claver described the acquisition as a foundational shift that rewires how institutions interact with crypto infrastructure. As more capital flows through Ripple’s vertically integrated brokerage model, XRP’s role as the settlement asset of choice may be solidified.

Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road aims to enhance its ability to serve more clients by integrating traditional and digital financial systems through RLUSD and the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Hidden Road, a rapidly growing prime brokerage firm based in London, UK, provides financial services across various asset classes, including foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, and swaps. The firm currently serves over 300 leading financial institutions. Ripple Labs intends to offer custody services to Hidden Road clients, allowing secure storage of digital assets.