Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25B

📢Sponsor | 💡Telegram | 📰Past Editions

Good Morning.

China retaliated harder with additional tariffs on the US. Two things are clear on the crypto markets for now: (1) eventually something needs to happen for things to be fixed, and risk assets will rally when that intervention happens, (2) there will most likely be another dip before that intervention happens. If your time horizon is long, (1) is not a bad bet even if that means experiencing some drawdown. Obviously, this is NFA.

In Today's Email:

• What Matters: Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25B 💰️ 

• Case Study: The Color of Money: Stablecoin Business Models 💵 

• Governance & Features: M^0 Expands to Solana ↔

You read and share. We listen and improve. Send us feedback at [email protected].

WHAT MATTERS

Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25B

State of play: Ripple is acquiring multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25B, marking one of the largest mergers in the crypto space.

• The deal aims to accelerate Ripple's institutional expansion and strengthen its stablecoin efforts.

• Hidden Road is set to adopt Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral and migrate post-trade operations to the XRP Ledger.

• Hidden Road clears over $3T annually and serves 300+ institutional clients.

• Ripple plans to inject new capital to grow Hidden Road’s operations, positioning it as the largest non-bank prime broker.

• The acquisition is pending regulatory approval.

Why it matters: The deal positions Ripple to become a major institutional player by integrating traditional finance infrastructure with crypto, advancing its stablecoin strategy, and expanding XRP Ledger adoption.

Our take: This is the ultimate 5D chess move from Ripple. RLUSD will effectively increase its usage and capital velocity by magnitudes

• Who would've thought that years of XRP selling and playing the regulatory catch-and-mouse capital market game would end up with your company having enough capital to buy your way into other vertically integrated businesses? Genius tbh.

For builders and investors: I still don't know what XRP will be used for - there’s a lesson in that.

CASE STUDY

The Color of Money: Stablecoin Business Models

Credits to Steakhouse Finance for the original article

Stablecoins vary in how they manage reserves, typically falling into three categories: full reserve (USDC), fractional reserve (USDT, USDS), and no reserve (LUSD).

• Full reserve models are backed entirely by liquid assets, prioritizing stability and liquidity but facing challenges in generating sustainable profits.

  • These issuers often explore alternative revenue sources such as APIs, transaction fees, or platform services.

• Fractional reserve stablecoins allocate part of their reserves to higher-yield, less liquid assets like secured loans or commercial paper.

  • This allows for surplus generation and higher return on equity (ROE), though it comes with added liquidity risk.

  • The tradeoff supports more aggressive growth strategies and wider profit margins.

• No-reserve models like LUSD are credit-based and typically backed by endogenous or algorithmic mechanisms without direct fiat collateral.

  • These rely on economic incentives and protocol mechanisms to maintain stability, often exposing them to higher volatility.

Each model reflects different priorities: liquidity and transparency for full reserve, profitability and scale for fractional reserve, and decentralization and autonomy for no-reserve systems — these differences may lead to a segmented market, where different stablecoins serve distinct user needs based on risk appetite, liquidity preference, and utility.

Take a peek at our referral reward at the bottom of this issue. Share this newsletter and receive our list of 500 crypto VC individuals 👇

INSIGHTS

Galaxy Digital Approved for Nasdaq Listing

Galaxy Digital has received SEC approval to move its corporate domicile from the Cayman Islands to Delaware, marking a key step in its US expansion.

• Galaxy plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY following a shareholder vote on May 9.

• Pending approval from shareholders and the Toronto Stock Exchange, the transition is expected to close in mid-May.

• The move follows a recent $200M settlement with the NYAG related to Galaxy’s involvement in promoting the failed Luna cryptocurrency.

FEATURES & GOVERNANCE UPDATE

M^0 Expands to Solana with KAST Stablecoin Launch

Stablecoin infrastructure platform M^0 is expanding from Ethereum to Solana, emphasizing its chain-agnostic approach to programmable digital dollar deployments.

• KAST will be the first to use M^0’s new infrastructure, launching two custom stablecoins: one for tokenizing deposits and another for savings use cases.

• M^0 allows issuers to design branded, interoperable stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasuries, offering flexibility in yield distribution and on-chain programmability.

• The move highlights Solana’s growing ecosystem and M^0’s aim to simplify stablecoin issuance across blockchains.

Other notable feature updates:

• Pump.fun launched PumpFi.

• Morpho Labs introduced Morpho Prime.

• Chainlink introduced Payment Abstraction.

• Ethena Labs deployed USDe and sUSDe on BNB Chain.

• Lens Chain introduced its full-stack SocialFi infrastructure.

• Babylon Foundation released the official tokenomics guide for BABY.

QUICK BITES

• Apollo invests in RWA platform Plueme.

• Ripple acquires Hidden Road for $1.25B.

• DOJ shutters crypto crime-fighting division.

• First-ever XRP ETF to launch in US Tuesday.

• BlackRock adds Anchorage Digital as custodian.

• Kraken & Mastercard launch crypto debit cards.

• Galaxy Digital approved for Nasdaq listing in May.

• Total crypto market cap falls 30% from peak levels.

• Ethereum’s DEX volume halves since the December peak.

• Argentina Congress backs investigation into Libra memecoin.

• Solana developers launch new 'Confidential Balances' token extensions.

• SEC to host Coinbase, Cumberland, DRW, and Uniswap at crypto roundtable.

• World Liberty Financial proposes USD1 stablecoin airdrop for WLFI holders.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

• Wintermute’s read on crypto markets’ reaction to tariffs.

• proofofnathan’s read on crypto payments stack breakdown.

• Jeff Dorman’s read on the downside of tying crypto to commodities.

If you enjoy reading this issue, please consider subscribing. It takes 1 minute of your time, but it would mean the world to us 🙇

Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.