- Ripple finalized the $1.25B Hidden Road purchase, rebranding it as Ripple Prime, with activity rising threefold since April across all institutional services.
- RLUSD becomes more integrated into brokerage operations as clients hold balances and use the stablecoin for collateral, aligning future plans with blockchain settlement.
- With six acquisitions in 28 months, including GTreasury and Rail, Ripple connects custody, payments, and treasury functions into one system for enterprise clients.
Ripple completed the acquisition of Hidden Road and folded the non-bank prime broker into a new unit called Ripple Prime. The company now runs a multi-asset prime broker that handles clearing, financing, and brokerage across digital assets, derivatives, swaps, foreign exchange, and fixed-income products. The deal expands services for institutional clients and widens the use of RLUSD inside trading and treasury workflows. It also positions the stack to move more activity onto blockchains. Management points to steady client demand and plans deeper integrations across custody, payments, and stablecoin tools.
Ripple Prime after the Hidden Road deal
Ripple paid $1.25 billion for Hidden Road and closed the transaction on Friday, then rebranded the platform as Ripple Prime to anchor institutional trading and financing.
The company states it is the first crypto firm to own and operate a multi-asset prime broker, which changes how it sits between funds, banks, and digital venues. Coverage spans the trade lifecycle: execution access, clearing processes, and balance-sheet financing for derivatives, swaps, FX, and fixed income, plus digital assets. Activity at the unit has grown threefold since the announcement in early April, with teams citing new mandates and deeper usage from existing clients. The expansion creates a direct line from order flow to post-trade operations under one umbrella.
Ripple stablecoin plan and RLUSD in prime workflows
Ripple says the new business will “significantly enhance the utility and reach” of Ripple USD (RLUSD) inside institutional workflows that need reliable settlement and collateral. Certain derivatives customers already hold balances in RLUSD, and several prime brokerage products accept the stablecoin as posted collateral. The firm plans to place more components of trade processing on blockchain rails to streamline operations and reduce costs. RLUSD sits at the center of that plan, while XRP, custody, and payments infrastructure support transfers and safekeeping. Together, these pieces create a path from execution to margin and settlement that reduces handoffs between legacy systems and on-chain tools.
TradFi access under one relationship
Institutional desks want access to digital markets without fragmenting relationships across many providers, and a single prime relationship reduces complexity. Under this model, funds and banks can access digital assets while they continue to trade swaps, FX, and fixed income inside the same account structure. The new unit provides financing and clearing alongside execution access, which helps capital flow across strategies with fewer operational breaks. Post-trade services connect into custody and stablecoin platforms, so treasury teams can move cash-equivalent value across venues and products without manual stitching. That structure also creates clearer risk views, since positions sit in one environment rather than in scattered silos.
Acquisition timeline and integration outlook
The company has pushed a focused acquisition program to fill gaps in its institutional stack. It bought Metaco in June 2023 for digital asset custody, then added Standard Custody in June 2024 to expand regulated storage options. It acquired Rail in August to support stablecoin-powered payments across merchant and platform flows. It purchased GTreasury last Thursday to tighten cash and liquidity controls for enterprise clients. With Hidden Road closed and rebranded, the tally reaches six strategic deals in 28 months. The integration plan ties treasury, custody, stablecoin, and prime brokerage into one environment so clients can move from cash management to execution, then to settlement and reporting, without switching providers or replicating processes.
Conclusion
Ripple completed a $1.25 billion purchase, created Ripple Prime, and advanced a multi-asset prime brokerage model that serves institutions across digital assets, derivatives, swaps, FX, and fixed income. Unit activity has tripled since early April, while RLUSD already appears as balances and collateral in several products. Recent acquisitions, including Metaco, Standard Custody, Rail, and GTreasury, round out custody, payments, and treasury layers that support the core prime offering. The roadmap places more of the trade lifecycle on blockchains, with stablecoin rails and custody linking execution to settlement inside one platform.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The article does not offer sufficient information to make investment decisions, nor does it constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument. The content is opinion of the author and does not reflect any view or suggestion or any kind of advise from CryptoNewsBytes.com. The author declares he does not hold any of the above mentioned tokens or received any incentive from any company.
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