Ripple, the San Francisco-based digital asset infrastructure firm, has agreed to acquire Hidden Road, a fast-growing global prime broker, for $1.25bn – marking one of the largest M&A transactions in the digital assets space to date.
The deal will see Ripple inject significant capital into Hidden Road’s platform, providing immediate scale to the firm’s prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services. The acquisition positions Ripple as the first crypto-native company to fully own and operate a multi-asset prime broker, expanding its presence in traditional financial markets.
Hidden Road, which currently clears more than $3tn annually for over 300 institutional clients, offers access across FX, digital assets, derivatives, fixed income, and swaps. The partnership is aimed at bridging the gap between legacy finance and decentralised finance (DeFi), with Ripple’s infrastructure backing Hidden Road’s ambitious global expansion.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, called the deal a pivotal move as regulatory uncertainty in the US begins to clear and institutional appetite for digital assets grows. “We’re at an inflection point for digital asset adoption,” he said. “With regulatory overhang easing and market maturity increasing, Ripple is seizing the opportunity to scale institutional-grade infrastructure.”
As part of the transaction, Hidden Road will integrate its post-trade operations with the XRP Ledger (XRPL), showcasing the blockchain’s potential as a foundation for institutional DeFi. The move also underscores Ripple’s intent to broaden XRPL’s utility in high-volume, professional finance use cases.
Ripple’s stablecoin, ripple USD (RLUSD), will be embedded across Hidden Road’s platform, becoming the first stablecoin to enable cross-margining between traditional and digital markets. The integration reinforces RLUSD’s positioning as an enterprise-grade, USD-backed stablecoin tailored to institutional requirements.
Marc Asch, CEO and Founder of Hidden Road, noted the acquisition will unlock “significant growth” for the firm, including expanded capacity, new product offerings, and broader geographic reach. “With Ripple’s backing, we’re able to scale rapidly and bring the reliability and trust that institutional clients expect—optimised for the digital age,” Asch said.
Ripple, a participant in Hidden Road’s Series B funding round and a client of the platform, cited its confidence in the firm’s technology, risk management, and operational infrastructure as key factors behind the acquisition.
Pending regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the coming months.
