Ripple-owned Hidden Road secures as broker-dealer license to expand institutional reach

Hidden Road, a digital asset and foreign exchange prime brokerage firm recently acquired by Ripple, has secured a broker-dealer license in the US, expanding its capabilities to serve institutional investors, the firm’s President, Noel Kimmel, told Bloomberg News.

The license enables Hidden Road to offer prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services across fixed-income assets to a broader range of customers. Kimmel said that the registration is a major step toward the company’s goal of becoming a full-service, non-bank brokerage across asset classes. 

The approval extends Hidden Road’s reach beyond digital assets and foreign exchange into traditional markets, including fixed income, where it recently became a Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) clearing member.

Hidden Road’s profile rose sharply after the 2022 FTX collapse, as institutional demand for prime brokerage services offering counterparty risk mitigation grew across the crypto sector.

The report noted that Hidden Road’s broker-dealer status enables it to offer fixed-income repurchase agreements, global funding services, and clearing capabilities across new asset classes later this year.

The move supports Ripple’s broader objective of offering enterprise-grade financial tools, spanning cross-border payments and advanced custody services, to institutional clients at scale.

Ripple acquisition and institutional expansion

Ripple announced its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road on April 8, describing it as the largest deal in its history. The acquisition positioned Ripple as the first crypto-native firm to own and operate a multi-asset prime brokerage platform with an established institutional network.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the transaction a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain-powered ecosystems. 

Ripple said that Hidden Road’s infrastructure will accelerate institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial services, broadening its service offerings into trade clearing, financing, custody, and risk management.

Ripple plans to deploy its RLUSD stablecoin as collateral for cross-asset trades within Hidden Road’s brokerage services as part of the integration. Hidden Road will also use the XRP Ledger to facilitate faster trade settlements, aiming to cut settlement times from hours to minutes and reduce operational costs.=

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