Ripple subsidiary Hidden Road launches services in the US

The recently Ripple-acquired prime-brokerage platform Hidden Road has officially launched its digital asset services in the United States.

The recently Ripple-acquired prime-brokerage platform Hidden Road has officially launched its digital asset services in the United States. That’s according to a press release from the company.

With the launch, institutional investors in the U.S. gain access to OTC crypto swaps—trades that take place outside regular exchanges and are typically customized. “The U.S. market for digital assets has long been underserved when it comes to product offerings,” says Michael Higgins, Global Head of Corporate Development at Hidden Road. “Although OTC swaps account for a sizable portion of global crypto trading volume, they had largely been out of reach for U.S. institutions until now. With our new Swap Prime Brokerage service, we can give our clients access to a much wider range of products and solutions.”

OTC swaps are private, bilateral trades not traded on public exchanges. They’re often used by institutional players to move large amounts of assets without affecting the market price.

Ripple acquired Hidden Road in April for $1.25 billion, a clear move toward institutional infrastructure within the crypto industry.

The XRP price, however, seems little moved by the news. While this expansion is strategically a positive development for Ripple, XRP currently mostly tracks Bitcoin’s price action and the broader macroeconomic backdrop. In the last seven days, XRP has fallen about 8%.

At the time of writing, XRP sits at $2.14 — still about 44% below its all-time high.