Ripple, a prominent blockchain payments company, has announced the expansion of its services to include digital asset spot prime brokerage tailored for the U.S. market. This move comes approximately seven months after the initial announcement of its plans to acquire Hidden Road, a strategic decision aimed at enhancing Ripple's capabilities in the digital asset trading sphere.
According to a Monday announcement, Ripple's institutional clients based in the United States will now be able to execute over-the-counter (OTC) spot transactions across a wide array of cryptocurrencies. The launch of this service follows Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road, a crypto-friendly prime broker, in a deal valued at $1.25 billion. The acquisition was initially disclosed in April and officially finalized in October.
Michael Higgins, International CEO of Ripple Prime and a former executive at Hidden Road, stated, "The launch of OTC spot execution capabilities complements our existing suite of OTC and cleared derivatives services in digital assets. This positions us to provide U.S. institutions with a comprehensive offering that caters to their specific trading strategies and needs."
With the acquisition of Hidden Road, Ripple is now positioned to effectively operate as a multi-asset prime broker for crypto traders, offering cross-margin OTC spot transactions and holdings, as well as OTC swaps and CME futures and options. The expansion announcement coincided with Ripple's preparations to host its annual Swell conference in New York City.
Data from Nansen indicates that the price of XRP (XRP) has experienced a decrease of approximately 5% over the last 24 hours, dropping from $2.50 to $2.37 at the time of publication.
Ripple remains an influential player in U.S. politics, with several of its executives, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse, having cultivated close relationships with the current White House administration. In October, a representative from Ripple attended a White House fundraising event for a proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom championed by U.S. President Donald Trump in July. This project, now estimated to cost $350 million, resulted in the demolition of the White House's historic East Wing.
Furthermore, the company has supported the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, which is believed to be at least partially responsible for helping elect numerous candidates deemed favorable to crypto policies in the 2024 U.S. elections.
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