Ripple said on Tuesday it will acquire prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest deals in the digital assets industry as the company deepens its push into institutional finance.
The acquisition will see Ripple become the first cryptocurrency company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker.
Hidden Road, based in New York, provides institutional clients with services including clearing, financing, and prime brokerage across digital assets, foreign exchange, derivatives, and fixed income.
Hidden Road currently clears about $3 trillion annually across multiple markets.
“We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
“The US market is effectively open for the first time, and we’re continuing to pursue opportunities to transform the space at scale.”
The acquisition is expected to enhance Ripple’s existing offerings, particularly its cross-border payments business and recently launched Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin. Hidden Road will use RLUSD as collateral across its prime brokerage platform, making it the first stablecoin to enable cross-margining between digital assets and traditional markets.
The deal, which follows Ripple’s participation in Hidden Road’s Series B funding round, is expected to close in the coming months, subject to regulatory approvals.