Ripple has officially completed its acquisition of the prime brokerage firm Hidden Road and rebranded the entity as Ripple Prime. With this strategic move, Ripple not only strengthens its position in the financial ecosystem but also becomes the first company within the cryptocurrency sector to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime brokerage platform.
Originally announced in April 2025, the $1.25 billion deal signals a significant milestone in Ripple’s expansion into institutional finance. Hidden Road, known for providing institutional clients with access to a broad range of assets including digital currencies, foreign exchange, derivatives, and fixed income products, now serves as a vital component of Ripple’s long-term vision for integrating crypto with traditional markets.
Ripple Prime is designed to offer end-to-end services for institutional investors, including settlement, trading, custody, and financing. By uniting both digital and traditional asset classes under one roof, Ripple aims to streamline access to financial instruments for hedge funds, asset managers, and other large-scale entities.
As part of the integration process, Hidden Road’s founder and CEO Marc Asch will join Ripple’s executive team, collaborating closely with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. This leadership synergy is expected to accelerate Ripple Prime’s operational rollout and help scale its services globally.
Beyond infrastructure, Ripple intends to leverage its existing crypto technology stack—spanning custody solutions, payment rails, and stablecoin capabilities—to enhance Ripple Prime’s offerings. The company emphasized the role Ripple Prime will play in advancing adoption of RLUSD, its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin introduced in late 2024. The stablecoin is expected to benefit from improved liquidity and broader utility within institutional frameworks through the new platform.
Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is part of a broader acquisition strategy the company has been executing over the past two years. The fintech firm has been actively broadening its capabilities through a series of strategic purchases aimed at building a full-spectrum financial ecosystem. These include the acquisition of treasury management platform GTreasury for $1 billion, the purchase of stablecoin payment platform Rail in August 2025, and the earlier takeovers of Metaco and Standard Custody in May 2023 and June 2024, respectively.
These acquisitions underscore Ripple’s ambition to become a dominant infrastructure player not only in crypto but across the broader global financial system. By positioning itself as a bridge between decentralized technologies and traditional finance, Ripple is setting the stage for a more integrated and interoperable financial future.
With Ripple Prime now operational, the company is expected to focus on onboarding institutional clients and expanding the platform’s reach across key financial hubs. By offering access to both decentralized and traditional financial instruments through a single, regulated gateway, Ripple is aiming to solve one of the most pressing challenges facing institutional investors: fragmented access to assets and liquidity.
This move also represents a significant step in legitimizing crypto within the eyes of traditional finance. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies across global markets, Ripple’s approach of acquiring and integrating compliant, institutional-grade platforms may serve as a blueprint for other crypto firms seeking to scale responsibly.
Market analysts are closely watching Ripple’s next moves, speculating that additional acquisitions could be on the horizon. With its war chest and proven strategy, Ripple is well-positioned to continue consolidating key infrastructure players, further cementing its leadership in the evolving digital asset economy.
Moreover, Ripple Prime could serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of XRP, Ripple’s native token. As institutional clients engage with the platform’s services, XRP could see increased utility in cross-border payments, liquidity provisioning, and settlement flows.
Looking ahead, Ripple’s strategy reflects a growing trend among digital asset companies to push beyond core crypto offerings and build vertically integrated financial ecosystems. The firm’s alignment with regulatory standards, combined with its growing suite of products and services, could place it at the forefront of the next wave of institutional crypto adoption.
In summary, the transformation of Hidden Road into Ripple Prime is more than a simple rebranding—it marks a fundamental shift in how Ripple positions itself in the global financial marketplace. By combining traditional asset access with digital innovation, Ripple is creating a powerful platform that could redefine institutional engagement with digital assets for years to come.