acquisition of the broker Hidden Road

Announced the acquisition of the broker Hidden Road by Ripple for 1.25 billion dollars, marking a crucial moment for the future of digital finance and consolidating the role of digital assets in the global institutional landscape.

Ripple acquires Hidden Road, a global multi-asset prime broker, to strengthen its position

Ripple, one of the leading providers of digital infrastructure for the financial world, has announced the acquisition of Hidden Road, a rapidly growing global prime broker, for the sum of 1.25 billion dollars.

The operation represents one of the most significant in the cryptocurrency sector and opens new scenarios for the integration between traditional and decentralized finance.

Hidden Road has established itself as a key player in the field of multi-asset prime brokerage. Specifically, offering professional services to more than 300 high-profile financial institutions.

Its operations range from clearing and liquidity management in foreign currency and digital assets to derivatives and fixed income securities. 

With an annual transaction volume of 3 trillion dollars, the company has demonstrated solidity and innovation in meeting the needs of the most demanding customers.

The capital injection by Ripple will allow Hidden Road to significantly expand its operational capacity. 

Furthermore, with this acquisition, Ripple becomes the first company crypto to directly manage a global prime broker. A decisive step to gain the trust of institutional investors.

According to Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, the current favorable regulatory environment in the United States, combined with the growing maturity of the digital asset sector, creates the perfect conditions for a new phase of growth:

“Digital finance is reaching a turning point. Our goal is to profoundly transform the sector, capitalizing on XRP technology and the advanced solutions already in our possession.”

The news regarding the stablecoin RLUSD

Another central element of the operation concerns the stablecoin RLUSD, launched by Ripple.

This will become the first stablecoin to enable efficient cross-margining. That is, the possibility of using the same collateral for multiple markets, connecting digital assets and traditional financial instruments.

The result will be an acceleration of the integration between DeFi and institutional finance, with significant advantages in terms of efficiency, security, and transparency.

Hidden Road, for its part, will migrate its post-trading infrastructure to the distributed ledger XRPL (XRP Ledger). With the goal of streamlining operations, reducing costs, and demonstrating the effectiveness of the blockchain developed by Ripple as a standard for decentralized finance.

The adoption of XRPL by such a significant institutional player represents a clear sign of trust in the technology developed by Ripple, already known for its scalability and security.

The agreement is part of a broader Ripple strategy aimed at providing comprehensive solutions for financial institutions. These include digital custody, tokenization, cross-border transfers, and regulated services.

With over ten years of experience in the industry and more than 60 regulatory licenses obtained in various jurisdictions, Ripple confirms itself as a point of reference for businesses that intend to adopt compliant and secure digital solutions.

Marc Asch, founder and CEO of Hidden Road, commented on the operation as follows: 

“The integration with Ripple will allow us to grow exponentially, offer new products, expand our clientele, and maintain the reliability standards required by large institutional investors. We are building a solid bridge between the traditional financial world and the digital one.”

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Objectives of Ripple

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Ripple, which was already an investor in Hidden Road’s Series B and used its services as a client, was thoroughly familiar with the team, technology, and operational processes of the broker. 

This previous connection has facilitated the agreement, which should be concluded in the coming months, pending approval from the competent regulatory bodies.

With this move, Ripple aims to consolidate its leadership in the digital asset sector. Furthermore, it aims to lead the evolution of institutional finance towards more open, digital, and integrated models.

The acquisition of Hidden Road is not only a major economic operation, but also a statement of intent: bringing decentralized finance to the level of traditional finance, without compromises on security, efficiency, and compliance