Ripple is accelerating its digital finance ecosystem expansion with the acquisition of Hidden Road, as President Monica Long declares 2025 will be the company’s most transformative year yet.
Ripple President Monica Long recently captured the attention of the XRP community with several key updates shared during an interview with CNBC. She emphasized the strategic acquisition of Hidden Road, a leading prime brokerage firm, which will significantly enhance Ripple’s core services—payments, custody, and asset tokenization.
According to Long, integrating Hidden Road’s infrastructure will boost Ripple’s operational efficiency, expand its global reach, and reinforce its end-to-end financial ecosystem—from liquidity sourcing to final-mile payouts. The combination of prime brokerage, post-trade settlement via the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and institutional-grade custody is expected to unlock substantial performance gains.
Ripple currently holds over 60 regulatory licenses worldwide, a major competitive edge in providing cross-border financial services. Long highlighted that Ripple has built its global network “brick by brick,” anchored by strong liquidity tools and real-time settlement capabilities.
She expressed strong optimism, stating:
“2025 is shaping up to be Ripple’s best year yet.”
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also fueled enthusiasm by applauding CME Group’s upcoming launch of XRP Futures on May 19. He called it a “long-overdue” milestone that signals the growing maturity and recognition of the XRP market.
In addition, Ripple is preparing to launch its stablecoin, RLUSD, which is expected to further increase the utility of digital assets within its ecosystem. With these strategic developments, both Ripple’s leadership and investors are looking forward to a potentially game-changing year ahead.
