Crypto lawyer John Deaton states that Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road signals an aggressive growth push with upsides.
John Deaton, a prominent crypto lawyer and XRP XRP $1.89 24h volatility: 4.9% Market cap: $114.24 B Vol. 24h: $3.41 B advocate, recently commended Ripple Labs’ efforts to expand following years of legal challenges. Deaton pointed to Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road as a clear sign that the company is serious about leading the future of finance. Notably, his comments show how Ripple is working to connect traditional finance with decentralized systems.
Hidden road buy positions ripple for defi growth
In his recent post on X, Deaton explained that Ripple’s purchase of Hidden Road is more than a large acquisition. He said this primarily to buttress that Hidden Road is a prime brokerage firm that processes over $3 trillion in transactions yearly for more than 300 institutional clients.
Directly responding to Chamath Palihapitiya’s take on crypto deals this year, John Deaton noted that the acquisition provides Ripple with a solid foundation to embed blockchain at the centre of traditional finance. He added that this goal has been evident in the company’s recent efforts to deepen its ties with established financial institutions.
I agree with Chamath. I also believe @Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road as possibly the best example of the convergence of TradFi and DeFi in all of crypto.
Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm handling over $3T annually across 300+ institutional clients, now… https://t.co/yOJCE7zftk
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) April 28, 2025
Deaton said one of the biggest advantages of this Hidden Road acquisition is using the XRP Ledger for post-trade settlements. With this, Ripple can cut settlement times from the usual 24 hours to just 3 to 5 seconds.
For context, Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, will play a vital role by acting as collateral in these transactions. This setup allows Ripple to connect digital assets and traditional financial markets smoothly.
The pro-crypto lawyer also commented on Ripple’s focus on custody services. He pointed out that Ripple’s earlier purchases of Metaco and Standard Custody led to the launch of Ripple Custody. This is a service developed to help institutions store their digital assets securely.
According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the custody market is expected to reach $16 trillion by 2030. Deaton believes Ripple is positioning itself for a major role in this fast-expanding area.
He also suggested that Ripple could offer tokenization-as-a-service. This would allow banks and institutions to tokenize assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate directly on the XRP Ledger. He said these moves show Ripple Labs is making up for lost time and building a strong platform for future growth.
Monica long on ripple labs’ strategic roadmap
Coinspeaker previously reported that Ripple President Monica Long stunned the XRP army in a recent CNBC interview. She confirmed the Hidden Road acquisition and explained that the deal is important to Ripple’s strategy.
According to the update, the firm will help strengthen Ripple’s financial infrastructure services. This will include global payments, token custody, and asset tokenization for large enterprises.
Notably, Long explained that integrating XRP and RLUSD into Ripple Labs’ services is a major focus. This will help to bring blockchain efficiency to major businesses while keeping the stability of traditional finance. She stressed that Ripple’s mission has always been to bridge the two worlds, and this purchase is a significant step towards achieving that goal.
Monica Long’s comments and John Deaton’s perspective show that Ripple is moving past its legal fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm is now focused on becoming a leader in institutional finance.
Specifically, a notable move here is their novel idea of bringing institutional-grade crypto custody to South Korea through the BDACS partnership.
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