TLDR
- Ripple completed its $1.25 billion Hidden Road acquisition in October 2025.
- Hidden Road became Ripple Prime after the deal and revenue has tripled year over year.
- Ripple Prime uses RLUSD as collateral for several institutional brokerage products.
- Ripple Prime is moving post-trade activity onto the XRP Ledger to lower costs.
- Kroll gave a Ripple Prime legal entity a BBB investment-grade rating in April 2026.
Ripple Prime is expanding its institutional prime brokerage business after Ripple’s $1.25 billion Hidden Road acquisition brought balance-sheet support, RLUSD access, and XRP Ledger settlement plans.
Ripple Prime Revenue Rises After Acquisition
According to the report, Ripple completed its acquisition of Hidden Road in October 2025 and renamed the business Ripple Prime. Ripple described the deal as one of the largest in digital assets and said it became the first crypto company to own and operate a global multi-asset prime broker.
Michael Higgins, international chief executive of Ripple Prime, said, “Ripple has the infrastructure to enable institutional adoption of digital assets and a very large balance sheet, which made them a natural partner.” Since the acquisition closed, Ripple Prime’s revenue has tripled year over year.
Hidden Road was built as a multi-asset prime brokerage and clearing firm. The platform served institutions across foreign exchange, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, fixed income, clearing, and financing.
Before the deal, Hidden Road cleared about $3 trillion annually across markets and worked with more than 300 institutions. The business had been seeking more balance-sheet capacity to meet client demand for financing and prime brokerage services.
RLUSD and Stablecoin Collateral Support 24/7 Markets
Ripple Prime is using RLUSD, Ripple’s GENIUS-compliant dollar-backed stablecoin, across prime brokerage products. The firm said some derivatives clients have already chosen to hold balances in RLUSD.
Stablecoins allow clients to post collateral and receive payments around the clock. Traditional markets usually rely on U.S. dollars during banking hours, forcing firms to hold more cash over nights and weekends.
Higgins said, “As of now, funding is needed on Friday to support what clients will do over the weekend.” He added, “If the next step is GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins, RLUSD is likely to be in the mix.”
Ripple Prime also accepts RLUSD with a zero haircut because its reserves are audited and regulated. The firm says this can improve capital use for clients that trade across digital and traditional markets.
XRP Ledger Migration Targets Lower Costs
Ripple said Ripple Prime will migrate post-trade activity onto the XRP Ledger to reduce costs and improve settlement. Higgins said the move remains in the early stages but could lower expenses as volumes grow.
He said, “The XRP ledger is built with robustness, reliability, speed and low-cost transactions in mind.” Ripple Prime also uses RLUSD on XRPL as part of its settlement and collateral strategy.
Ripple Prime has expanded venue access through several partnerships. In May, the firm integrated with EDX Markets and EDXM International for spot and perpetual futures liquidity.
The firm also added support for Hyperliquid in February, allowing institutional clients to access onchain derivatives liquidity. Clients can cross-margin decentralized finance exposure with other asset classes supported by the prime broker.
Kroll Rating Adds Institutional Access
A Ripple Prime legal entity received a BBB investment-grade rating from Kroll in April 2026. The rating applies to an entity operating as a tri-registered futures commission merchant and broker-dealer.
Kroll said Ripple Prime’s balance sheet grew over the past year, supported by about $500 million in capital injections from Ripple. The firm also reached profitability in 2025.
The rating report noted that Ripple Prime remains smaller than established broker-dealers. Kroll also said future performance depends on execution across equity financing, repo collateral, and broader clearing connectivity.
Higgins said Ripple Prime is built for markets that move all day. He added, “This is Wall Street 2.0.”
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