Ripple is making waves again—this time through its latest acquisition, prime brokerage firm Hidden Road. Just weeks after Ripple finalized its $1.25 billion acquisition of the broker, Hidden Road has launched a new product tailored for US institutional investors: cash-settled over-the-counter (OTC) crypto swaps.
The announcement came on May 28 and marks one of the first product releases since the deal was announced. Through this launch, Hidden Road is enabling its American clientele to trade OTC crypto swaps across a selection of major digital assets—an option that has been notably scarce in the United States until now.
The swaps will be facilitated by Hidden Road Partners, the entity within the firm that operates under the regulation of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This setup allows the company to provide structured, compliant access to large-scale crypto trading products in markets that typically face tight restrictions.
What Are Crypto OTC Swaps, and Why Do They Matter?
OTC crypto swaps are essentially private, off-exchange transactions that allow two parties to agree on a trade without affecting public exchange prices. These types of trades are favored by institutions looking to move large amounts of digital assets without slippage or market disruption.
Michael Higgins, Global CEO of Hidden Road, noted that while OTC swaps form a significant share of the overall digital asset trading landscape globally, U.S.-based institutions have traditionally had limited access to these instruments.
“The United States digital asset market has long been underserved from a product standpoint,” Higgins stated, underscoring the need for more sophisticated tools tailored to institutional use cases.
And the demand is certainly there. According to Finery Markets, institutional OTC crypto volumes more than doubled in 2023—rising 106% year-over-year. This surge highlights a growing appetite among hedge funds, family offices, and asset managers for deeper liquidity and bespoke trade structures.
Ripple’s Strategic Play for Institutional Dominance
Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road reflects a broader strategy: to deepen its roots in the institutional crypto space and position itself as more than just the company behind XRP. With Hidden Road, Ripple now owns and operates a regulated global prime brokerage that can bridge the gap between traditional finance and the emerging digital asset ecosystem.
This isn’t Ripple’s first step toward regulatory legitimacy. Hidden Road recently secured a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), allowing it to operate as a regulated entity within the U.S. financial system. This move provides a critical compliance foundation for offering sophisticated products like OTC swaps to institutional players.
The firm has also made inroads in Europe. In January 2025, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets confirmed that Hidden Road became one of the first companies to obtain a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license—an essential regulatory framework that just went into full effect at the end of December 2024.
A Gateway to Institutional Onboarding
Higgins has previously emphasized the “convergence” of traditional and digital finance, particularly in his comments from late 2024. He pointed out that large institutions are increasingly looking for balance sheets they can trust—ones that operate seamlessly across both legacy and blockchain-based financial systems.
This latest OTC product launch reflects that vision. It gives Ripple a new foothold to attract institutional money by offering robust infrastructure and financial products that traditional players are familiar with, but now tailored to the digital age.
As institutional interest in digital assets continues to expand, Ripple and Hidden Road are positioning themselves to meet the moment—providing trusted, regulated, and sophisticated pathways for large-scale crypto adoption.
While challenges still remain, especially in terms of regulation and market maturation, the message is clear: Ripple is building out the pipes that could carry the next wave of institutional capital into the crypto world—and OTC swaps are just the beginning
