Ripple has officially become a one-stop fintech shop following the completion of its $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a non-bank prime broker. The deal, finalized on Friday, marks a significant step in Ripple's evolution, positioning it as the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime brokerage. Hidden Road has been immediately rebranded as Ripple Prime.

This acquisition is one of five major acquisitions by Ripple in the past two years. Ripple's recent acquisitions include treasury management provider GTreasury, payments platform Rail, Standard Custody and Metaco.

Ripple Prime offers institutions a comprehensive suite of services, including clearing, prime brokerage, and financing across foreign exchange (FX), digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income. Ripple intends to integrate its existing digital asset infrastructure to Ripple Prime. This includes payments, crypto custody, its stablecoin RLUSD, and the use of XRP. The company also plans to apply blockchain capabilities across the prime brokerage unit to streamline operations and lower costs.

Since the acquisition was initially announced, Ripple Prime's business has reportedly increased threefold. Ripple anticipates further growth under the new brand. Hidden Road founder and CEO Marc Asch is working with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and the leadership team on the transition.

Ripple views the rebranded platform as a key channel for institutional adoption of its stablecoin, RLUSD. Clients are already using RLUSD as collateral for various prime brokerage products, and some derivatives customers have chosen to keep balances in RLUSD. Adoption is expected to rise in the coming months. Ripple Prime will significantly enhance the utility and reach of Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD. RLUSD's robust regulatory compliance has made it widely trusted by institutions, providing them with the necessary assurance to integrate it into their financial operations.

The integration of Hidden Road's post-trade operations onto the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is also planned, which Ripple expects will reduce costs and streamline settlement processes. According to Ripple, the synergies between the two businesses made the acquisition a logical next step to support institutional adoption of digital assets.

Ripple's strategic move to acquire Hidden Road is a major catalyst for XRP's potential breakout. Ripple has been aggressively courting traditional finance companies, with Metaco and GTreasury being among other notable acquisitions.

Ripple has established itself as a leading global provider of blockchain-based payment and settlement solutions, operating in over 55 countries and serving a network of financial institutions through its RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) platforms. Ripple is broadening into institutional custody and digital asset management services. These initiatives diversify Ripple's revenue base beyond XRP sales, building a more resilient business model aligned with traditional financial institutions entering the digital asset space.