Ripple Managing Director for the UK and Europe, Cassie Craddock, has confirmed that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) will play a central role in Hidden Road’s post-trade infrastructure.
Recall that Ripple recently acquired the prime brokerage firm for just over $1.2 billion. In a statement, Craddock revealed that RLUSD—the Ripple stablecoin—will serve as collateral. This will enable seamless bridging between digital assets and traditional finance (TradFi).
In parallel, Craddock stated that the XRPL will power all of Hidden Road’s post-trade services related to prime brokerage.
Previously, Hidden Road had disclosed its intention to transition post-trade operations to XRPL to reduce costs and enhance settlement efficiency. Ripple executives noted during the acquisition announcement that Hidden Road processes $3 trillion in annual transaction volume.
However, this massive volume currently suffers from delayed settlement times and the inefficiencies of traditional payment systems. Ripple is looking to resolve these issues with the XRPL integration.
The firm believes this shift will further highlight XRPL’s capabilities as a blockchain designed for institutional DeFi applications.
300 Institutional Clients Gain Access to Ripple’s Digital Infrastructure
Craddock also emphasized that Hidden Road brings a portfolio of 300 institutional clients. With the acquisition, Ripple is positioning itself to meet the growing demand for scalable, enterprise-grade digital asset solutions.
According to Craddock, this client base represents a “captive audience” with a clear need for infrastructure like Ripple’s custody and payment tools.
“These customers will be able to take advantage of our solutions,” she added. “We’re focused on solving real problems for banking and institutional clients while continuing to build use cases and utility for digital assets.”
What Does “Post-Trade on XRP Ledger” Mean for XRP?
Following Craddock’s disclosure, some in the XRP community raised questions about what post-trade activity on XRPL entails and how it could impact the XRP token.
Crypto Eri, a well-known figure in the XRP community, helped clarify. She explained that the XRPL would handle the settlement of trades and movement of RLUSD collateral. It may also manage>
In summary, the XRP Ledger will probably handle some actual transactions (e.g., settling trades, moving RLUSD collateral) and data (e.g., recording trade details, reconciling clearing data) for Hidden Road’s post-trade processes. We will have to rely on more updates from Ripple,…
— 🌸Crypto Eri ~ Carpe Diem (@sentosumosaba) April 20, 2025
Meanwhile, speculation is growing around how Hidden Road’s transaction volume might influence XRP’s price.
An AI analysis from Grok modeled a scenario in which XRPL processes the full $3 trillion in volume using XRP as a bridge asset. The model projected a potential XRP price of $28.55, representing a 13x increase from current levels.
However, this forecast relies on highly optimistic assumptions that may not reflect actual real-world adoption.
