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XRP Ripple is betting on financial infrastructure: Buying Hidden Road for $1.25 billion to enter Wall Street's core business
The cryptocurrency industry has advocated itself for years as a better alternative to the old financial system. However, Ripple is adopting a different and in some ways more ambitious strategy: directly building the system's core infrastructure.
On October 6, the San Francisco-based company announced that its brokerage arm Ripple Prime will provide prime broker services, clearing and financing support for funds managed by Brevan Howard. Brevan Howard is a global investment firm that manages approximately $35 billion in assets for sovereign wealth funds, pension plans and endowments.
To understand this move more deeply, we first need to understand what a "Prime Broker" is. It is a back-end toolkit that large investors rely on to conduct transactions, including borrowing, holding assets and settling transactions. Ripple said these services will cover both traditional and digital markets.
The "Pipeline" project from payments to Wall Street
Ripple Prime was formerly known as Hidden Road. In April 2025, Ripple agreed to acquire Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion, one of the largest deals in the cryptocurrency industry to date. At the time, Hidden Road was clearing up to US$3 trillion in assets annually for more than 300 institutional clients around the world in multiple markets.
In May of this year, Ripple announced that Ripple Prime's revenue had tripled year-on-year since the acquisition. In the same month, the company received a $200 million credit line from a fund managed by Neuberger Specialty Finance to provide more loans to customers. In August, it raised a further $275 million through private equity financing in notes.
Beyond Crypto: Getting involved in U.S. stock swaps
This business goes far beyond the scope of cryptocurrencies. In August, Ripple Prime launched the "Delta One" trading desk, which provides Total Return Swaps for U.S. listed stocks, indices and digital assets. A total income swap is a contract that allows investors to receive all of their gains or losses without having to own assets. Large banks have long dominated this type of business.
Ripple's selling point is that it has no conflict of interest. Unlike bank trading desks that trade for their own profits, Ripple claims it "operates only in the clearing and financing process." The company reported more than $1 billion in regulatory net capital, a cash buffer that brokers must hold to cover risk.
Signature cooperation: side by side with traditional giants
For a company known for its payments and its closely related cryptocurrency XRP, the deal with Brevan Howard shows the depth of its transformation. Brevan Howard is not a crypto start-up testing new service providers, but one of the world's well-known macro hedge funds. The company employs approximately 1,000 people in offices around the world in London, New York, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Tokyo and other places, and runs a dedicated digital asset business.
Typically, institutions of this size will conduct their transactions, borrowings and settlements through large banks. As a result, Brevan Howard decided to hand over some of the work to Ripple Prime, which suggests that brokers owned by cryptocurrency companies can now compete for clients who have long belonged to Wall Street.
