Hidden Road, the prime brokerage firm set to be acquired by Ripple, just cleared a major regulatory hurdle — it’s now a licensed U.S. broker-dealer.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) granted the license to Hidden Road’s U.S. arm, Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC. With this, the firm can now expand its fixed-income prime brokerage services, offering institutional clients compliant clearing, financing, and trading of fixed-income assets.
“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,” said Hidden Road President Noel Kimmel.
The timing couldn’t be more interesting. Just earlier this month, Ripple announced plans to acquire Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, in what’s shaping up to be one of the largest moves by a crypto-native firm into traditional markets. The deal is still awaiting regulatory approval.
Ripple isn’t just trying to grow bigger with this deal — it’s trying to fuse crypto tech with the backbone of Wall Street. Hidden Road already clears $10B+ a day for over 300 big clients, and now plans to shift its post-trade processes onto the XRP Ledger. That means faster, cheaper settlements backed by blockchain.
Ripple CTO David Schwartz called it a “defining moment” for the XRPL, while CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Hidden Road will now be able to scale into “the largest non-bank prime broker globally.”
The regulatory climate is also turning in Ripple’s favor. In recent months:
- Ripple won money transmitter licenses in Texas and New York.
- The SEC dropped its long-running lawsuit against Ripple in March.
- And the U.S. just confirmed Paul Atkins, a known crypto-friendly voice, as the next SEC Chair.
With this license secured and Ripple’s backing, Hidden Road is now in a powerful position, straddling both the old guard of finance and the future of crypto infrastructure.
Also Read: HashKey Launches Asia’s First XRP Fund with Ripple’s Support
