Ripple Effect? Hidden Road Enters Middle East with “In-Principle” Abu Dhabi Licence

By: finance magnates|2025/05/09 16:00:09
0
Share
copy
Hidden Road, the crypto prime broker acquired by Ripple last month, has cemented its presence in the Middle East by securing an in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM to operate as a regulated financial services firm. The approval has been granted to the ADGM entity of Hidden Road. Targeting UAE Institutions When fully approved, the licence will allow Hidden Road to offer clearing and prime brokerage services across its global suite of traditional and digital asset products to institutional investors in the UAE. “ADGM's high regulatory standards make it a key market for institutional growth,” said James Stickland, UAE CEO of Hidden Road. Ripple acquired Hidden Road last month in one of the largest deals in the crypto industry. The $1.25 billion transaction will be completed with a mix of cash, XRP tokens and equity, and is expected to close in the coming months. According to Hidden Road’s International CEO, Michael Higgins, the acquisition was “pretty organic” as “Ripple was well known to Hidden Road as a customer. Hidden Road was known to members of the Ripple management team. There was a natural relationship between our firms.” Read more: “Hidden Road Has 20x More Balance Sheet Demand Than Supply; the Ripple Deal Solves This” The Growing Demand for Crypto Prime Brokers Prime brokers play a key role in financial markets, including the growing crypto sector, by offering a full range of services such as trading, custody, and lending to major institutions like hedge funds, banks, and private equity firms. Hidden Road currently clears $3 trillion annually across all markets and serves over 300 major institutional clients. With Ripple’s backing, the broker plans to grow its capacity to serve even more clients in the future. You may also like: Crypto Prime Brokers Leave Banks Behind The UAE licence was the second regulatory approval the crypto prime broker secured after its acquisition by the blockchain giant. Last month, Hidden Road received approval from FINRA to operate as a broker-dealer in the US . Apart from the two new licences, the platform operates with authorisation from regulators in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. “Our goal from day one has been to equip clients with seamless access both to traditional and digital markets,” said Noel Kimmel, President at Hidden Road. “We continue to actively pursue regulatory approvals around the world to deliver on that commitment.” Hidden Road, the crypto prime broker acquired by Ripple last month, has cemented its presence in the Middle East by securing an in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM to operate as a regulated financial services firm. The approval has been granted to the ADGM entity of Hidden Road. Targeting UAE Institutions When fully approved, the licence will allow Hidden Road to offer clearing and prime brokerage services across its global suite of traditional and digital asset products to institutional investors in the UAE. “ADGM's high regulatory standards make it a key market for institutional growth,” said James Stickland, UAE CEO of Hidden Road. Ripple acquired Hidden Road last month in one of the largest deals in the crypto industry. The $1.25 billion transaction will be completed with a mix of cash, XRP tokens and equity, and is expected to close in the coming months. According to Hidden Road’s International CEO, Michael Higgins, the acquisition was “pretty organic” as “Ripple was well known to Hidden Road as a customer. Hidden Road was known to members of the Ripple management team. There was a natural relationship between our firms.” Read more: “Hidden Road Has 20x More Balance Sheet Demand Than Supply; the Ripple Deal Solves This” The Growing Demand for Crypto Prime Brokers Prime brokers play a key role in financial markets, including the growing crypto sector, by offering a full range of services such as trading, custody, and lending to major institutions like hedge funds, banks, and private equity firms. Hidden Road currently clears $3 trillion annually across all markets and serves over 300 major institutional clients. With Ripple’s backing, the broker plans to grow its capacity to serve even more clients in the future. You may also like: Crypto Prime Brokers Leave Banks Behind The UAE licence was the second regulatory approval the crypto prime broker secured after its acquisition by the blockchain giant. Last month, Hidden Road received approval from FINRA to operate as a broker-dealer in the US . Apart from the two new licences, the platform operates with authorisation from regulators in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. “Our goal from day one has been to equip clients with seamless access both to traditional and digital markets,” said Noel Kimmel, President at Hidden Road. “We continue to actively pursue regulatory approvals around the world to deliver on that commitment.”

-- Price

--

You may also like

Pizza, Poker & AI Trading: A Recap of WEEX Crypto Pizza Day in Dubai

Relive WEEX Crypto Pizza Day in Dubai, where the MENA crypto community gathered at WEEX Dubai Studio to celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day with pizza, poker, networking, and a live AI trading competition. Discover how WEEX turned a historic crypto milestone into a hands-on AI trading experience.

Why have foreign exchange stablecoins never taken off?

Rather than issuing a local currency stablecoin from scratch, it is better to build a layer of foreign currency pricing on top of a USD stablecoin, allowing users to enjoy the liquidity of the dollar while keeping accounts in local currency.

IOSG Founder: Please tell Vitalik the truth, let the OGs who have enjoyed the industry's dividends enlighten the young people

The wage earners freeze to death on the road, the sellers of goods die of thirst on the way. The weavers of brocade wear coarse cloth, and the grain growers do not have enough to eat.

Morning Report | SpaceX reveals it holds approximately $1.45 billion in Bitcoin; Nvidia's Q1 financial report shows revenue of $81.6 billion; Manus plans to raise $1 billion for buyback business

Overview of Important Market Events on May 21

Insiders: DeepSeek is forming a Harness team to compete with Claude Code

DeepSeek Code is coming.

SpaceX officially submitted its prospectus, unveiling the largest IPO in history

SpaceX's public market debut could take place as early as June, making it the first in a series of giant IPOs from AI companies, with OpenAI and Anthropic also waiting for the right moment.

Contents

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more
iconiconiconiconiconiconicon
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com