Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has made a powerful statement reaffirming the company’s unwavering commitment to XRP.
For context, Ripple announced it has finalized the acquisition of the leading prime brokerage platform, Hidden Road. The $1.25 billion deal, which began earlier this year, positions Ripple as the first crypto-related company to own and operate a functional multi-asset prime broker.
As a result, the company emphasized that the acquisition would enable it to accelerate global institutional adoption of digital assets. With the deal finalized, the San Francisco-based company rebranded Hidden Road as Ripple Prime.
In its statement, Ripple described the acquisition as a logical step toward helping institutions embrace digital assets. The company highlighted that its growing infrastructure, which spans crypto custody, payments, stablecoin solutions, and XRP utility, will seamlessly complement Hidden Road’s institutional offerings, including trading and prime brokerage services.
Garlinghouse Celebrates Hidden Road Acquisition
In a post celebrating the deal, Garlinghouse noted that Ripple has unveiled five major acquisitions over the past two years.
With today’s close of Hidden Road (now Ripple Prime), Ripple has announced 5 major acquisitions in ~2 years (GTreasury last week, Rail in August, Standard Custody in 2024, Metaco in 2023). As we continue to build solutions towards enabling an Internet of Value – I’m reminding you… https://t.co/O5Uub7ulw9
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 24, 2025
Last week, Ripple announced its $1 billion acquisition of treasury management firm GTreasury, marking a major step toward entering the multi-trillion-dollar corporate treasury market.
Just weeks earlier, in August, Ripple had also revealed an agreement to acquire Rail, a global payments provider specializing in stablecoin-powered settlements. Valued at approximately $200 million, Ripple stated that the deal would allow both companies to deliver an end-to-end stablecoin payments solution for institutional clients.
Ripple’s acquisition spree extends beyond these recent deals. In June 2024, the company acquired Standard Custody, a regulated enterprise-grade custodian, for an undisclosed amount. The move strengthens Ripple’s ability to offer secure custodial services to institutional clients while reinforcing its commitment to regulatory compliance.
Earlier, in May 2023, Ripple completed the $250 million purchase of Metaco, a Swiss-based digital asset custody firm, enabling its expansion into a market projected to exceed $10 trillion by 2030.
Now, Ripple has finalized its latest and largest deal yet — the $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage platform.
According to Garlinghouse, these strategic acquisitions align with Ripple’s broader mission to build an “Internet of Value” — a vision centered on enabling money to move as freely and efficiently as information does today.
Ripple CEO Makes Bold Declaration About XRP
In what many community members described as an unbelievable statement, Garlinghouse reminded them that XRP remains at the core of Ripple’s operations. This reaffirms that XRP is fundamental to the company’s overall strategy rather than an optional asset.
The statement seeks to address growing speculation that Ripple has been sidelining XRP in favor of its stablecoin, RLUSD. Historically, XRP played a central role in Ripple’s payment infrastructure, serving as the bridge asset within its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution, which has now been rebranded as Ripple Payments.
However, since RLUSD’s launch last year, several community members have argued that Ripple’s focus has shifted away from XRP to RLUSD. The stablecoin has increasingly appeared at the forefront of the company’s partnerships and integrations.
For example, in the Hidden Road acquisition, Ripple’s official blog highlighted RLUSD’s role as a collateral asset on the brokerage platform but made no mention of XRP.
This omission fueled speculation that XRP’s utility had been reduced primarily to covering fees on the XRP Ledger, rather than remaining integral to Ripple’s broader financial strategy.
However, Garlinghouse has dismissed these concerns in his latest X post, reminding community members that XRP remains at the core of its entire strategy. This implies that Ripple is not shifting its focus away from XRP nor sidelining it in favor of RLUSD, even as it expands its influence in payments, tokenization, custody, and liquidity.
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