XRP News Today: Ripple Builds Blockchain Bridge to Traditional Finance with $1.25B Bet

Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road has positioned the company as a pivotal player in institutional digital asset trading, marking a strategic leap toward integrating blockchain with traditional finance. The rebranded Ripple Prime now operates as the first crypto firm to offer a global, multi-asset prime brokerage, enabling institutional clients to access clearing, financing, and trading across foreign exchange, derivatives, fixed income, and digital assets, according to a ZyCrypto analysis. This move underscores Ripple's ambition to bridge the gap between digital and traditional financial systems by embedding its XRP Ledger (XRPL) and RLUSD stablecoin into the core of the prime brokerage, the ZyCrypto analysis adds.

The acquisition accelerates Ripple's evolution from a payments-focused blockchain company to a comprehensive financial infrastructure provider. Ripple Prime's over-the-counter (OTC) spot trading capabilities, launched in November 2025, allow U.S. institutions to trade XRP and RLUSD alongside other major digital assets and stablecoins, according to a Coinpedia report. By integrating OTC spot transactions with swaps, futures, and cross-margining, Ripple Prime offers a unified platform for managing digital and traditional portfolios, as noted in a CoinDesk article. The RLUSD stablecoin, now valued at $1 billion in market capitalization, has become a critical component of this ecosystem, serving as collateral for derivatives and enhancing liquidity, according to a Coinotag report.

Institutional adoption of XRP and RLUSD has gained momentum, bolstered by Ripple's broader acquisition strategy. The company has secured a $1 billion deal with GTreasury, a treasury management firm, and acquired Rail, a stablecoin payments processor handling 10% of global B2B stablecoin transactions, according to a CryptoBasic report. These moves, coupled with Evernorth's $1 billion XRP treasury initiative, highlight XRP's growing role as a settlement asset in institutional finance, the ZyCrypto analysis notes. Analysts note, in a Coinpedia report, that XRP's recent price surge—reaching $2.85 in Q3 2025 and a $170 billion market cap—reflects renewed investor confidence driven by corporate adoption and real-world utility.

However, challenges persist. A major XRP stakeholder recently threatened to sell holdings after Western Union partnered with Solana for a USD-backed stablecoin, raising concerns about Ripple's dominance in cross-border payments, according to a TimeStabloid report. Despite this, Ripple executives emphasize long-term institutional partnerships, pointing to Ripple Prime's $3 trillion annual transaction volume and its integration of XRP's fast settlement capabilities, a point also highlighted in the CryptoBasic coverage. The company also plans to unlock 1 billion XRP from escrow in November 2025, a routine release that could influence short-term price dynamics, according to a BeInCrypto analysis.

Ripple's vision extends beyond trading. By pursuing a national banking charter and expanding its custody solutions, the firm aims to normalize stablecoins and tokenized assets within regulated frameworks, as described in a TimeStabloid article. CEO Brad Garlinghouse has framed the acquisition of Hidden Road as part of Ripple's mission to build an "Internet of Value," with XRP serving as the backbone of its ecosystem, the ZyCrypto analysis reports.

As the crypto industry matures, Ripple's strategy appears to align with institutional demand for scalable, compliant infrastructure. With XRP mirroring the 2017 bull cycle's technical patterns and analysts eyeing a potential $20 price target, according to a TradingView story, the token's trajectory remains closely tied to Ripple's ability to execute its institutional expansion. The company's recent milestones—ranging from prime brokerage launches to regulatory clarity—position it as a key architect of the tokenized financial future.