Ripple has announced the acquisition of prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.26 billion. The deal will open the crypto payment firm to a new range of traditional markets in its quest for seamless cross-border payments. This year, Ripple has partnered with key firms and institutions to drive adoption. Ripple Eyes New Possibilities According to the announcement , the deal, one of the largest in the digital asset space, will boost the expansion of both firms. Ripple’s subsidiaries will tap into new markets as traditional firms increase their appetite for crypto assets. Hidden Road clears about $3 trillion annually for top financial institutions and will leverage XRP’s Ledger for faster and efficient services. XRPL is notable for its fast and scalable infrastructure in the crypto industry. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted that this acquisition is huge for the company adding that the right infrastructure is needed to support traditional firms. “… This is the capital and activity that will tap into XRP and the XRP Ledger’s bread-and-butter – instant, efficient, scalable, and low-cost movement of value. Instead of waiting for the company wrote. Furthermore, the company explained the need to merge traditional and decentralized finance highlighting the pathway of Hidden Road’s growth with the backing of Ripple’s balance sheet. Prime brokers like Hidden Road are huge intermediaries for market markets OTC services and other financial institutions. This deal makes Ripple the first crypto company to own a prime brokerage firm. Crypto Community Backs Move Digital asset users expressed delight following the announcement signaling a strong merger between decentralized and traditional finance. Amid the frenzy, crypto executives and analysts highlighted the positive effect of the acquisition on institutional investor inflow. In a nutshell, several traders have tipped institutional funds to fuel the next market uptick. This move adds to Ripple’s growing partnerships to foster cross-border partnerships. In the past months, the company has collaborated with central banks and traditional firms globally. At the time of writing, XRP price jumped 2% in hourly trading as bulls attempted to recover previous losses. The asset has dropped alongside the wider market amid heightened sell pressures.