Ripple Unveils Ripple Prime After $1.25B Hidden Road Acquisition

Highlights:

• Ripple has unveiled Ripple Prime following the completion of the acquisition of Hidden Road.
• RLUSD stablecoin gains wider institutional use through Ripple Prime.
• Ripple expands its global reach with multiple high-profile acquisitions.

Fintech giant Ripple has officially unveiled Ripple Prime after sealing its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road. This makes the company the first crypto firm to run a multi-asset, global prime brokerage platform. According to the announcement, Ripple Prime combines trading, financing, and clearing into one service targeting institutional investors.

Ripple noted that the prime brokerage business has already tripled since the acquisition announcement was made. It has more than 300 institutional clients and has cleared more than $3 trillion in assets across different asset classes. The platform includes advanced risk controls, regulated custody, and RLUSD collateralized options, which allow the institutions to control both digital and traditional assets efficiently.

Introducing Ripple Prime: We’re pleased to share that our acquisition of Hidden Road is officially complete, making Ripple the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker – bringing the promise of digital assets to institutional customers at scale.…

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 24, 2025

Ripple Expands Institutional Reach

The acquisition is one of the most strategic moves made by Ripple. Hidden Road, a non-bank prime broker, provided services in foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, and fixed income. Ripple found synergy in both technology and operational objectives, and thus, the merger was a natural progression.

In April, the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, claimed the company was at an inflection point in the next stage of digital asset adoption. The founder of Hidden Road, Marc Asch, noted that the merger would unlock vast expansion in terms of additional licenses and financial power.

The integration forms a smooth connection between traditional finance and digital assets. By using the Ripple background in payment, crypto custody, and stablecoin technology, Ripple Prime will facilitate the adoption of these solutions by institutions. The new platform will help to simplify the work and minimize expenses based on the strength of blockchain innovation.

RLUSD Stablecoin Gains Momentum

Ripple Prime will be instrumental in increasing the role of Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD as well. RLUSD is already set as collateral for prime brokerage products at institutions. A number of derivatives clients have opted to hold their balances in RLUSD, and this trend is gaining momentum.

Ripple highlighted that the robust regulatory framework of RLUSD has made the service a reliable option for institutional clients. In July 2024, Bluechip rated the stablecoin A in terms of its stability, its governance, and asset backing. Further, Ripple chose the Bank of New York Mellon as the primary reserve custodian of RLUSD, which goes further to support its compliance commitment.

The highest-rated stablecoin on Bluechip has never changed. But today, RLUSD becomes the new #1 ranked stablecoin.

Bluechip is beginning coverage for RLUSD by @Ripple with an initial rating of A.

This reflects our view that RLUSD is one of the safest stablecoins available. pic.twitter.com/hkLgvRNjwj

— Bluechip (@bluechip_org) July 18, 2025

Strategic Growth Through Acquisitions

Ripple Prime is only an extension of Ripple’s overall growth. During the last two years, the fintech giant has already made five significant acquisitions. These include Metaco in May 2023, Standard Custody in June 2024, and GTreasury earlier this month, for $1 billion. In August 2025, Ripple also purchased the stablecoin-powered payments firm Rail.

Each acquisition builds the strength of Ripple’s infrastructure and its scale of influence in financial technology sectors. Ripple’s leadership believes that the integration of these companies will make it a unified digital ecosystem that supports the global institutions.

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington lauded the strategic path taken by Ripple, referring to the Hidden Road acquisition as one of the best made by the company so far. He pointed out that Ripple Prime provides the tools that make both institutional investors and hedge funds more efficient.