Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion, Boosting XRP's Institutional Role

Ripple has made a significant move in the institutional finance sector with the acquisition of Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage platform. The deal, valued at $1.25 billion, was announced on April 8 and marks Ripple as the first crypto-native company to own and manage a full-spectrum, multi-asset prime brokerage firm. This acquisition is expected to enhance the role of XRP in institutional markets by integrating Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and settling transactions via the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Jake Claver, Managing Director at Digital Ascension Group, highlighted the implications of this acquisition. Hidden Road’s network includes over 300 institutional clients and facilitates $10 billion in daily trade volume. Claver noted that if even a fraction of this volume starts settling through XRP, the demand for XRP could skyrocket. This is because the institutions involved are hedge funds and market makers who require XRP to power their operations, leading to increased XRP holdings and a direct link between institutional usage and XRP demand.

A key aspect of the integration is RLUSD, Ripple’s recently launched stablecoin. RLUSD will serve as the primary collateral instrument within Hidden Road’s operations, enabling cross-margining across both crypto and traditional markets. This feature offers institutions a unified framework for capital efficiency, with XRP and RLUSD working together to streamline workflows and reduce transaction friction. 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 tied 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 have an exponential impact on XRP’s utility, liquidity, and valuation. Claver described the acquisition as a foundational shift that not only adds volume but also 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.