A milestone event of accelerating convergence between Crypto and TradFi.
Author: KarenZ, Foresight News
Cover: Ripple
On April 8, Ripple announced the acquisition of multi-asset broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, which is another major acquisition in the crypto payment and financial sector following Stripe's acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge, reflecting the accelerating trend of convergence between Crypto and TradFi.
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach, maintaining the original structure and technical terminology.]Ripple has obtained a "pipeline" directly connecting global markets by acquiring Hidden Road, bridging TradFi and Crypto. The addition of Hidden Road will help Ripple introduce more traditional financial institution clients and enhance its attractiveness to enterprise customers.
Marc Asch, founder and CEO of Hidden Road, stated that the new resources, licenses, and venture capital obtained through this transaction will drive significant growth in Hidden Road's business. Hidden Road will be able to expand its customer base and new product lines, covering more markets and asset classes.
Additionally, Ripple mentioned that it might optimize costs and liquidity using its cross-border payment solution Ripple Payments, and provide critical custody services for Hidden Road clients requiring bank-grade digital asset custody.
Summary
In traditional finance, bulk brokers play an indispensable role, providing one-stop comprehensive financial services such as custody clearing, back-office operations, research support, leverage financing, securities lending, and fund raising to hedge funds, professional institutional investors, high-net-worth clients, and family offices. The addition of Hidden Road enables Ripple to directly serve these institutions, filling the gap with the crypto market.
The practical application of RLUSD is another highlight of this transaction. Hidden Road's platform allows Ripple to provide capital-efficient trading services. RLUSD can serve as financing and margin assets, expanding its usage in cross-market trading. In comparison, Tether and USDC are primarily used for payments and trading, while RLUSD, through Hidden Road's integration, can play a broader role in institutional trading and clearing processes. Meanwhile, XRPL's potential as a high-capacity, low-cost settlement system may be further unleashed through Hidden Road's business integration.
In summary, this acquisition is not just a technological integration but a comprehensive penetration of the crypto industry into the traditional financial system. If the integration is successful, Ripple is poised to become the core hub connecting traditional finance and the crypto economy, potentially leading to broader XRP adoption and significantly increased XRPL transaction volume and utility.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, the articles published on this site represent only the personal views of the authors and guests, and are unrelated to Web3Caff's stance. The information in the article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice or offer. Please comply with the relevant laws and regulations of your country or region.
Welcome to join the Web3Caff official community: X(Twitter) account丨WeChat reader group丨WeChat official account丨Telegram subscription group丨Telegram discussion group
