Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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Key Takeaways:
- Ripple-owned prime broker Hidden Road has launched an OTC crypto swaps product.
- Hidden Road is among the first brokers to offer such swaps to U.S. institutions.
- Institutional OTC volumes grew 106% in 2023, reflecting the broader adoption of over-the-counter crypto trading solutions.
On May 28, Ripple’s newly acquired prime broker, Hidden Road, announced the launch of a new over-the-counter (OTC) crypto swaps product targeting institutional investors in the United States.
The service allows U.S.-based institutions to trade cash-settled crypto swaps privately across a wide range of digital assets. These trades are conducted off-exchange, reducing market impact and providing greater flexibility for large-volume transactions.
According to the announcement, the product will be offered by Hidden Road Partners CIV UK Ltd., the firm’s entity regulated by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Alongside the new swap capability, the firm will also offer cross-margining and financing services in digital assets.
“The United States digital asset market has long been underserved from a product standpoint,” said Michael Higgins, International CEO and Global Head of Corporate Development at Hidden Road.
“While OTC swaps represent a significant portion of digital asset trading volumes globally, until now, they were largely unavailable to U.S. institutions,” he added.
With this launch, Hidden Road becomes one of the few prime brokers to offer cash-settled crypto swaps in the U.S., expanding access for institutions seeking deeper exposure to digital assets without trading directly on public exchanges.
Hidden Road’s entrance into the U.S. OTC swap market comes amid rising institutional demand for digital asset trading infrastructure.
While exact volumes remain undisclosed, data from Finery Markets earlier this year showed that institutional OTC volumes surged 106% in 2023.
In previous interviews, Higgins pointed to a growing need from large institutions for strong balance sheets and infrastructure spanning both traditional and crypto finance.
“Servicing them across traditional finance and digital asset ecosystems that have already converged presents a really unique opportunity for us in the marketplace,” he said in December 2024.
Ripple’s Bet Gathers Momentum as Institutional Push Accelerates
The development follows Ripple’s $1.25 billion deal to acquire Hidden Road, announced in April 2025.
While the deal is still pending regulatory clearance, it’s already reshaping Ripple’s role in global finance.
Once completed, Ripple will become the first crypto firm to fully own and operate a global, multi-asset prime brokerage platform.
Hidden Road, which clears over $3 trillion in annual volume and serves more than 300 institutional clients, offers services across FX, digital assets, derivatives, and fixed income.
The acquisition is central to Ripple’s broader strategy of building bridges between traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure.
A major part of that plan includes integrating Ripple’s upcoming stablecoin, RLUSD, into Hidden Road’s collateral network.
If successful, RLUSD will become the first stablecoin used for cross-margining between digital and traditional assets, potentially establishing it as a trusted USD-backed collateral for institutions.
Hidden Road is also preparing to shift its post-trade operations to the XRP Ledger, seeking to boost efficiency and reduce settlement friction.
Soon after the deal was announced, Hidden Road received a broker-dealer license approval in the U.S. and was one of the first companies to receive a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license in Europe.
With Ripple’s backing, the prime broker is expected to scale quickly and expand its global footprint.
Additionally, Ripple recently settled its legal battle with the U.S. SEC, reducing its penalty from $125 million to $50 million, following an agreement to drop its cross-appeal.
The settlement cleared a major regulatory hurdle just as Ripple moved aggressively into new product verticals.
Meanwhile, Ripple reportedly attempted to acquire Circle, the issuer of USDC, for $4–5 billion, a bid that was rejected as too low.
However, its growing balance sheet, including $11.77 billion in XRP holdings, provides ample firepower for further expansion.
