Ripple Enters Broker-Dealer Arena as Hidden Road Gains FINRA Authorization

Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage firm recently acquired by Ripple for $1.25 billion, announced a regulatory milestone Thursday. Its subsidiary, Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC, received authorization from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to operate as a broker-dealer.

This new designation allows the firm to enhance its capabilities in fixed income prime brokerage. “This approval enables Hidden Road to expand its recently launched fixed income prime brokerage platform, which currently includes Fixed Income Repo & Global Funding services,” the company stated, adding:

As a broker-dealer, Hidden Road will now be able to provide new and existing institutional clients with a full suite of regulatory-compliant prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services in fixed income assets.

Noel Kimmel, president of Hidden Road, framed the milestone as pivotal to the firm’s trajectory in capital markets. Kimmel stated: “Our broker-dealer registration is a significant step in the development of Hidden Road’s fixed income prime brokerage platform and bolsters our capabilities in traditional financial markets.” The executive continued: “As a FINRA member, we will be able to bring our best-in-class, technology-driven fixed income service offering to an expanded universe of institutional clients. Our business has tremendous momentum, and we look forward to continuing to provide superior execution and support to our clients amidst today’s exceptionally dynamic market environment.”

Ripple recently announced its acquisition of Hidden Road, a deal valued at $1.25 billion and pending regulatory approval. If completed, it would make Ripple the first digital asset firm to own a global, multi-asset prime broker. The acquisition aims to expand Ripple’s cross-border payment and custody services. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented: “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption – the U.S. market is effectively open for the first time due to the regulatory overhang of the former SEC coming to an end, and the market is maturing to address the needs of traditional finance.”

Ripple CTO David Schwartz described the deal as transformative, stating that XRP could support part of Hidden Road’s daily $10 billion clearing volume and 50 million transactions. “Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is a defining moment for the XRP Ledger and XRP,” he said. The partnership will integrate blockchain-based settlement, use XRP and RLUSD for collateral and cross-asset trades, and aim to establish Hidden Road as the largest non-bank prime broker globally.

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