Key Notes
- Ripple’s Hidden Highway deal will amplify its DeFi and institutional finance capabilities.
- With XRP Ledger’s 3–5 seconds settlement occasions, the agency hopes to spice up TradFi effectivity.
- Ripple is positioning itself amid the $16 trillion custody market by 2030.
John Deaton, a distinguished crypto lawyer and XRP
XRP
$2.32
24h volatility:
6.2%
Market cap:
$135.40 B
Vol. 24h:
$5.30 B
advocate, not too long ago recommended Ripple Labs’ efforts to increase following years of authorized challenges. Deaton pointed to Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Highway as a transparent signal that the corporate is severe about main the way forward for finance. Notably, his feedback present how Ripple is working to attach conventional finance with decentralized methods.
Hidden highway purchase positions ripple for defi progress
In his latest put up on X, Deaton defined that Ripple’s purchase of Hidden Road is greater than a big acquisition. He stated this primarily to buttress that Hidden Highway is a primary brokerage agency that processes over $3 trillion in transactions yearly for greater than 300 institutional purchasers.
Straight responding to Chamath Palihapitiya’s tackle crypto offers this 12 months, John Deaton famous that the acquisition supplies Ripple with a strong basis to embed blockchain on the centre of conventional finance. He added that this objective has been evident within the firm’s latest efforts to deepen its ties with established monetary establishments.
I agree with Chamath. I additionally imagine @Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Highway as probably the very best instance of the convergence of TradFi and DeFi in all of crypto.
Hidden Highway, a primary brokerage agency dealing with over $3T yearly throughout 300+ institutional purchasers, now… https://t.co/yOJCE7zftk
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) April 28, 2025
Deaton stated one of many largest benefits of this Hidden Highway acquisition is utilizing the XRP Ledger for post-trade settlements. With this, Ripple can lower settlement occasions from the standard 24 hours to simply 3 to five seconds.
For context, Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, will play an important function by appearing as collateral in these transactions. This setup permits Ripple to attach digital property and conventional monetary markets easily.
The professional-crypto lawyer additionally commented on Ripple’s give attention to custody companies. He identified that Ripple’s earlier purchases of Metaco and Commonplace Custody led to the launch of Ripple Custody. This can be a service developed to assist establishments retailer their digital property securely.
In line with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the custody market is anticipated to succeed in $16 trillion by 2030. Deaton believes Ripple is positioning itself for a significant function on this fast-expanding space.
He additionally recommended that Ripple might provide tokenization-as-a-service. This may enable banks and establishments to tokenize property like shares, bonds, and actual property instantly on the XRP Ledger. He stated these strikes present Ripple Labs is making up for misplaced time and constructing a powerful platform for future progress.
Monica lengthy on ripple labs’ strategic roadmap
Coinspeaker beforehand reported that Ripple President Monica Lengthy surprised the XRP military in a latest CNBC interview. She confirmed the Hidden Highway acquisition and defined that the deal is important to Ripple’s strategy.
In line with the replace, the agency will assist strengthen Ripple’s monetary infrastructure companies. It will embody international funds, token custody, and asset tokenization for big enterprises.
Notably, Lengthy defined that integrating XRP and RLUSD into Ripple Labs’ companies is a significant focus. It will assist to carry blockchain effectivity to main companies whereas retaining the steadiness of conventional finance. She burdened that Ripple’s mission has all the time been to bridge the 2 worlds, and this buy is a major step in the direction of reaching that objective.
Monica Lengthy’s feedback and John Deaton’s perspective present that Ripple is shifting previous its authorized combat with the US Securities and Change Fee. The agency is now centered on changing into a frontrunner in institutional finance.
Particularly, a notable transfer right here is their novel thought of bringing institutional-grade crypto custody to South Korea by means of the BDACS partnership.
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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain fanatic and journalist who relishes writing about the actual life functions of blockchain know-how and improvements to drive normal acceptance and worldwide integration of the rising know-how. His want to coach individuals about cryptocurrencies evokes his contributions to famend blockchain media and websites.