Ripple becomes first crypto to own a global prime broker
Ripple completes the acquisition of Hidden Road and rebrands it as Ripple Prime, becoming the first crypto firm to own a global multi-asset prime broker.
Ripple has completed its acquisition of non-bank prime broker Hidden Road and rebranded the business as Ripple Prime, becoming the first crypto company to own and operate a global multi-asset prime broker. The transaction is aimed at scaling institutional access to digital assets by adding prime brokerage to Ripple’s infrastructure.
Ripple Prime provides clearing, prime brokerage and financing across foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, swaps and fixed income for institutional clients worldwide.
Since the acquisition was first announced earlier this year, Ripple reports the prime brokerage business has tripled in size. Further expansion is planned as services are rolled out to new and existing institutions.
Ripple’s payments, crypto custody and stablecoin platforms back the new unit. Its regulated U.S. dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, is already used as collateral for certain prime brokerage products, and some derivatives clients hold balances in RLUSD.
Ripple is extending institutional reach through partnerships and integrations. The company has lined up a partnership with a major South African financial institution for digital asset custody. RLUSD now connects with tokenized funds from large asset managers, enabling instant exchanges designed to maintain exposure to money market yields.
Hidden Road founder and CEO Marc Asch is working alongside Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse as operations are unified under the Ripple Prime brand. Ripple plans to apply blockchain features inside the brokerage to streamline processes and reduce costs.
As GNCrypto covered previously, Ripple has been active in dealmaking, acquiring crypto custody firm Metaco in May 2023 and Standard Custody in June 2024, agreeing to purchase treasury management platform GTreasury, and buying stablecoin payments platform Rail in August 2025. The company launched the RLUSD stablecoin and pursued new payment corridors and custody partnerships, including in South Africa.
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