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Crypto payments company Ripple has just made a game-changing move in the United States (US) digital asset market, bringing XRP and its stablecoin RLUSD to the forefront of institutional finance. The company has officially launched Ripple Prime in the US, a new brokerage firm designed to offer clients a streamlined gateway to engage in secure trading and settlement by leveraging both XRP and RLUSD. The latest launch represents a significant milestone in the firm’s mission to expand its product offerings and drive greater adoption, redefining how the US interacts with digital assets.
On November 3, Ripple issued a press release announcing the launch of its new digital asset spot prime brokerage service for US institutional clients on its official website. The revelation follows the crypto company’s recent acquisition of Hidden Road, a former well-known multi-asset brokerage firm. Now fully integrated under the name Ripple Prime, the platform will offer institutions an extensive range of services, including prime brokerage, clearing, and financing.
With this groundbreaking launch, the platform will support all major digital asset types in the US, enabling users to execute Over-the-Counter (OTC) spot transactions across numerous cryptocurrencies, including XRP and RLUSD. By leveraging Ripple’s broker licenses and Hidden Road’s advanced infrastructure, Ripple Prime is expected to provide a unified platform for institutions to easily access Foreign Exchange (FX), digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed-income products.
Michael Higgins, the international Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ripple Prime, stated in the press release that the new OTC spot execution feature complements Ripple’s existing portfolio of OTC and cleared derivatives services for digital assets. He explained that the latest expansion strengthens the crypto payments company’s ability to meet the digital asset needs of US institutional clients and support their evolving trading strategies.
Moving forward, the payment firm emphasized that Ripple Prime will allow institutions to cross-margin their OTC spot transactions and holdings with other parts of their portfolio, such as swaps or Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures and options. Notably, the crypto company’s acquisition of Hidden Road has laid the foundation of this new system, integrating traditional prime brokerage capabilities with blockchain-based innovation.
Ripple Prime also represents one of the company’s many acquisitions. Earlier in October, CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, highlighted the company’s top five acquisitions, including GTreasury, Rail, Metaco, Standard Custody, and Hidden Road. Together, these strategic additions underscore the crypto firm’s broader effort to expand its institutional offerings and strengthen its position in the global payments industry.
In a follow-up announcement on X, the paymeny firm revealed that its RLUSD stablecoin has reached a market capitalization of more than $1 billion just one year after its launch. The company described RLUSD as a fully transparent and institutionally trusted stablecoin, backed 1:1 with the US dollar.
Ripple also shared that Ripple Prime, GTreasury, and Rail are now part of a unified initiative to leverage XRP and RLUSD for faster, more efficient, and compliant settlements worldwide. The company added that this integrated system will play a key role in driving the next phase of growth in global finance.
