Ripple acquisition of Hidden Road a ‘defining moment’ for XRPL — Ripple CTO

Key Points

  • Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road, a prime broker with over 300 institutional clients, is seen as a "defining moment" for the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
  • The acquisition could lead to significant use of the XRPL for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), potentially transforming it into a major venue for such transactions.
  • Hidden Road processes over $10 billion daily and 50 million transactions, suggesting a substantial potential increase in activity on the XRPL if even a fraction of this moves to the blockchain.

Summary

Ripple's recent $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a prime broker with extensive institutional connections, marks a pivotal moment for the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to Ripple's CTO David Schwartz, this move could significantly expand the XRPL's utility in tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs). Hidden Road's daily operations, which include clearing over $10 billion and processing millions of transactions, could see a portion of its activity shift to the XRPL, enhancing its role in the financial ecosystem. Despite previous minimal tokenization on the XRPL, the acquisition aims to leverage Hidden Road's established network to boost the platform's adoption for RWAs. This comes at a time when the RWA market is growing, with expectations that tokenized securities could reach a $2 trillion market by 2030. The move also aligns with broader industry trends where major companies like CME Group and Google are exploring blockchain for capital market efficiency, indicating a ripe environment for tokenization to flourish. However, the lack of secondary markets for tokenized assets remains a challenge, though this gap is expected to narrow as competition increases between crypto-native firms and traditional brokerages.

cointelegraph
April 9, 2025
Crypto
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