XRP News Today: "Ripple Bridges Crypto and Traditional Finance with Unified Trading Hub"

Ripple has launched a digital asset spot prime brokerage for U.S. institutional clients, marking a significant expansion into traditional financial services following its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a global multi-asset prime brokerage, according to The Crypto Basic. The new platform, Ripple Prime, enables over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading in major cryptocurrencies like XRP and RLUSD, Ripple's stablecoin, alongside derivatives, swaps, and foreign exchange products, according to CoinMarketCap. This integration allows institutions to cross-margin OTC spot positions with swaps, CME futures, and options, offering greater flexibility in managing digital asset portfolios, as reported by CoinDesk.

The launch underscores Ripple's broader strategy to bridge crypto and traditional finance. By combining Hidden Road's infrastructure with Ripple's regulatory licenses, the firm now provides a comprehensive suite of services for institutional clients, including custody, payments, and trading, The Crypto Basic noted. Michael Higgins, International CEO of Ripple Prime, emphasized that the expansion positions the company to meet institutional demand for diversified trading tools, CoinDesk reported. Ripple's native assets, XRP and RLUSD, are central to these offerings, enhancing liquidity and settlement efficiency for institutional participants, CoinDesk added.

The move follows a period of aggressive acquisitions. In 2024, Ripple acquired Standard Custody & Trust, a U.S. crypto custodian, and in 2025, it added Rail, a stablecoin payments firm, and GTreasury, a treasury management software provider, The Crypto Basic noted. These acquisitions have enabled Ripple to process over $3 trillion in annual transactions for 300+ institutions through Hidden Road, and post-trade operations are now migrating to the XRP Ledger, leveraging its near-instant settlement times to streamline operations, according to The Crypto Basic.

While Ripple's institutional push gains momentum, market dynamics around XRP remain complex. On November 1, 2025, Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP (worth ~$2.49 billion) from escrow as part of its monthly liquidity management program, according to BeInCrypto. Typically, 70–80% of unlocked tokens are re-locked, limiting net circulating supply increases to $500–750 million, CoinPaprika estimates. Analysts anticipate minimal direct price impact, though traders are monitoring re-lock rates as a potential signal of Ripple's liquidity strategy heading into 2026, BeInCrypto noted.

XRP's recent volatility has sparked debate about its market capitalization calculation. Critics argue that escrowed tokens—35 billion XRP—should not be counted in effective supply, drawing parallels to Bitcoin's lost coins, as previously discussed by BeInCrypto. Ripple's CTO clarified that the company can sell rights to future escrowed XRP, offering institutions early access to upcoming supply, CoinPaprika added. Meanwhile, investor sentiment appears to be shifting: whale activity indicates diversification into altcoins like Bittensor (TAO), MemeCore (MEMECORE), and Remittix (RTX), which offer real-world use cases, according to Live Bitcoin News.

Regulatory challenges persist, however. A federal court recently upheld the Fed's rejection of a cryptocurrency bank's request for a master account, citing systemic risks, as reported by Bitcoin Sistemi. Ripple has advocated for crypto firms to gain such access, but the Fed's stance remains cautious; with Jerome Powell's term ending, policy shifts could ease restrictions in the coming year, Bitcoin Sistemi observed.