Hidden Road, recently acquired by Ripple in a $1.25 billion deal, has launched over-the-counter (OTC) crypto swaps for institutional investors in the United States. This marks the firm’s first major product introduction since the acquisition was announced in April this year.
The service enables U.S.-based institutional clients to trade cash-settled OTC swaps on major digital assets through Hidden Road’s FCA-regulated UK entity.
Hidden Road’s new product allows institutional investors in the U.S. to access cash-settled OTC swaps across a broad range of cryptocurrencies. These swaps are privately negotiated contracts that enable traders to exchange crypto assets without impacting exchange market prices.
OTC swaps are used globally but were previously limited for U.S. institutional investors due to regulatory constraints and market gaps.
Michael Higgins, the International CEO, noted, “The United States digital asset market has long been under-served from a product standpoint. While OTC swaps represent a significant portion of digital asset trading volumes globally, until now, they were largely unavailable to U.S. institutions.” This launch aims to provide a broader set of trading tools to U.S. clients and improve their access to sophisticated digital asset products.
Hidden Road Partners CIV UK Ltd., the UK-based arm of the firm, offers this new OTC swap product and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In addition to the FCA regulation, Hidden Road recently received a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in the United States.
This license expands Citadel Securities-backed Hidden Road’s ability to offer clearing, prime brokerage, and financing services to institutional clients.
The broker-dealer license supports Hidden Road’s plans to grow its business and extend services across both traditional finance and digital asset markets. The company also holds a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license in Europe, enabling it to operate under the new EU regulatory framework that took effect in late 2024. These regulatory approvals position Hidden Road as a compliant prime broker serving institutional investors globally.
With the acquisition of Citadel Securities-backed Hidden Road, Ripple will become a leading non bank prime broker for digital assets globally. The deal is a mix of cash, Ripple stock and XRP tokens, according to the firm. The acquisition has not yet received regulatory approval, but Ripple intends to integrate Hidden Road into its blockchain infrastructure with settlement on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) post-trade.
Ripple USD (RLUSD) will be used to aid in the use of cross margining between traditional finance and crypto assets to maximize capital efficiency for clients.
In support of this, Bitget has today announced the spot listing of RLUSD on the service. With this listing, RLUSD widens the market availability of RLUSD, thus reinforcing Ripple’s attempt at promoting use of its stablecoin among the crypto community.
Hidden Road’s CEO Michael Higgins said,
“With the backing of Ripple’s significant balance sheet, Hidden Road will exponentially expand its capacity to service its pipeline and become one of the largest non-bank prime brokers globally.”
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