Will XRP be the Next Bitcoin? Price Stable as Ripple Acquires Prime Broker Hidden Road

Although XRP has yet to see a major price rally following Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road, market sentiment remains optimistic about its potential to climb higher. On Tuesday, Ripple agreed to acquire prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion.

The deal now positions Ripple to act as a rare crypto-native bridge into the traditionally exclusive world of global finance, an effort that now hinges on the XRP Ledger, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD, and growing interest in real-world asset tokenization.

Push for XRP Adoption

The latest acquisition coincided with the arrival of the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (XXRP) on April 8, marking a milestone for XRP investors and offering a leveraged opportunity to bet on the cryptocurrency’s price movements.

A 2x XRP ETF is launching tmrw in US, the first-ever XRP ETF on the market. Very odd (maybe a first) that a new asset’s first ETF is leveraged. Spot XRP still not approved, altho our odds are pretty high. Story via ⁦⁦@isabelletanlee⁩ pic.twitter.com/Eg4Wq5Y1Qi

As the first XRP ETF in the U.S., this fund will allow traders to gain exposure to double the daily price performance of the fourth-largest digital asset, making it an intriguing choice for those with strong views on XRP's short-term future.

The short-term impact of the acquisition plan is yet to be felt in the price of XRP, which could be attributed to the bear market caused by Trump’s tariff imposition. At the time of publication, XRP traded at $1.88, down 12% in the weekly chart, according to CoinMarketCap.

With this, Ripple becomes the first crypto-focused company to own a fully operational prime broker active in both traditional and digital markets.

Ripple intends to integrate its enterprise-grade stablecoin, RLUSD, into this infrastructure to serve as cross-margin collateral. This will allow institutional clients to manage positions across both crypto and traditional instruments seamlessly.

Ripple’s plan includes deploying the XRP Ledger to handle portions of trade settlements. Currently, such trades can take up to 24 hours via fiat rails. Ripple aims to shrink that window to minutes.

Market Impact and Outlook

Last year, Ripple partnered with UK-based Archax to launch a tokenized money market fund on XRPL. Now, with Hidden Road’s client base and infrastructure, Ripple could broaden XRPL’s role in tokenizing everything from bonds to commodities.

Today, Ripple announced it is acquiring Hidden Road for $1.25B– becoming the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. Together, Ripple and Hidden Road are bringing the promise of digital assets to institutional customers at scale, bridging…

Standard Chartered sees Ripple as well-positioned in this shift. The bank’s latest report forecasts XRP could hit $12.50 by 2028, citing its central role in cross-border payments and expected demand for regulated digital asset solutions.

XRP is currently trading near $1.93, up over 7% following the announcement. Ripple's move comes amid growing signs that regulatory conditions in the U.S. may favor tokenization and digital asset adoption.

By merging crypto-native infrastructure with established capital market workflows, Ripple is not just expanding its service offering, it’s laying the groundwork for a new phase in institutional finance. If successful, the Hidden Road acquisition could cement XRPL as a backbone for a tokenized, blockchain-compatible financial system.