Ripple’s Hidden Road acquisition could ‘supercharge XRP’s utility’

On Monday, March 2, 2026, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced that Hidden Road is now live on the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC).

DTCC announcement of Hidden Road. Source: X

As such, former Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz signaled its importance to the Ripple ecosystem.

“Seems important,” Schwartz replied to the announcement on X.

Why it’s important for Hidden Road to go live on DTCC’s NSCC

The Ripple community will be celebrating Hidden Road going live on DTCC’s NSCC as a sign of mainstream adoption of XRP Ledger (XRPL). Furthermore, Hidden Road will now process Over the Counter (OTC) trades through NSCC’s centralized setup.

The listing of Hidden Road in DTCC’s NSCC directly is seen as a major milestone in the integration of blockchain technology with the United States financial clearing system. Notably, Ripple Prime processes trillions of dollars per year, which is gradually being integrated into the Ripple ecosystem as Ripple Prime.

The expected impact on XRP

The XRPL ecosystem including XRP and Ripple USD (RLUSD) remains the primary focus of Ripple Labs, according to Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Worth noting that Ripple acquired Hidden Road for $1.25 billion in 2025 to catalyze the mainstream adoption of XRPL and RLUSD to institutional investors.

With Hidden Road having grown to a major prime brokerage, clearing, and financing platform, Ripple Labs is well-positioned to revolutionize the FX market. Consequently, Ripple Labs is keen to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) on XRPL and facilitate seamless FX trading through Ripple Prime, which is now live on NSCC.

Ultimately, Ripple Prime going live on DTCC’s NSCC will catalyze the macro bullish outlook for XRP, as revealed by X users @SMQKEDQG. At press time, XRP price traded around $1,35, having dropped about 18% in the past 30 days, catalyzed by the low retail demand and the notable drop in its Open Interest (OI).