Ripple News: Ripple Makes a Bold Move, Acquires Hidden Road

Big news in the crypto world! Ripple is making waves with a major acquisition. They’ve just announced a deal to buy Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm that handles multiple types of assets, for a whopping $1.25 billion. This acquisition is a real statement of intent from Ripple, signaling their serious ambitions to work with big institutional players and expand beyond just cross-border payments.

Hidden Road is no small player itself – they reportedly process over $3 trillion every year across foreign exchange, derivatives, digital assets, and even traditional fixed income. The good news is, they’ll keep operating under their own name and are planning to use Ripple’s tech to boost their services even further.

This acquisition is all about Ripple stepping up its game in the world of institutional finance. They’re aiming to be a key player connecting traditional markets with the exciting world of digital assets.

RLUSD: Making Headway with the Big Players

A really interesting part of this deal is how Ripple plans to use their brand new U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD. They’re looking to integrate RLUSD right into Hidden Road’s brokerage services, which means it could be used as collateral for trading across both traditional and digital asset markets.

This could be a game-changer for RLUSD! It has the potential to stand out from the crowd of other stablecoins by having real, practical use within a regulated and serious platform for institutions. Some analysts are even suggesting that RLUSD could become a central liquidity point for all of Ripple’s business products, leading to even wider adoption.

Imagine the appeal for big institutional investors: RLUSD could make it much easier to move capital efficiently across different countries and asset types, streamlining their operations.

XRP Ledger: Now Backed by Institutional Power

But there’s more! Hidden Road is also planning to move some of its important post-trade operations onto the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This is huge validation for XRPL, showing it’s capable of more than just simple payments. By using XRPL for settlements, Hidden Road is expected to cut down on transaction costs and speed up processing times – both critical factors when you’re dealing with the high volumes of institutional trading.

Many see this move as a big thumbs-up for XRPL’s ability to handle large-scale institutional finance. It could pave the way for other big prime brokers and financial institutions to take a serious look at the network for their own future integrations.

XRP Price Prediction: Could This Be Good News for XRP?

Unsurprisingly, the announcement has got people in the markets talking about XRP. While we haven’t seen a big price jump yet, analysts are keeping a close eye on things for potential longer-term shifts.

Right now, XRP’s price is moving sideways. However, the Hidden Road acquisition could be the spark that ignites things in the medium term. By expanding how XRP is used within institutional trading and financing, Ripple could really boost the token’s importance as a tool for liquidity and settlement.

XRP/USD price in the past 5 years – TradingView

If RLUSD really takes off and XRPL successfully supports institutional post-trade operations, we could see a ripple effect (pun intended!) on the demand for XRP. It could become more valuable both as a utility token and as a key part of wider liquidity systems.

Market experts are predicting that if Ripple successfully finalizes this deal and integrates Hidden Road’s operations, XRP’s value could start to move independently of the wider market, especially if we see more cautious market conditions where assets with real utility tend to do better.

XRP Future in 2025 and Beyond: A Bigger Picture

With over 60 regulatory licenses around the globe and an increasingly diverse range of products, Ripple seems to be evolving from just a payments network to a complete financial infrastructure provider. Buying Hidden Road isn’t just about getting bigger – it’s a strategic move betting on the future where crypto and traditional finance become increasingly intertwined.