Ripple Acquires Prime Broker "Hidden Road" For $1.25 Billion

Ripple has acquired prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, one of the largest crypto industry deals to date. This positions Ripple to scale its institutional offerings as U.S. regulatory pressure eases and Wall Street appetite for digital assets accelerates.

The acquisition gives Ripple access to a platform that clears over $3 trillion annually and serves more than 300 institutional clients. “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, citing a newly open U.S. market and maturing financial infrastructure.

Ripple will integrate its RLUSD stablecoin into Hidden Road's operations, using it as collateral across brokerage services. This could vault RLUSD ahead in the crowded dollar-stablecoin arena by tying it directly to institutional settlement and financing workflows.

The timing aligns with massive capital shifts into crypto by traditional finance, with $27.4 billion entering Bitcoin ETFs last quarter, and 86% of institutional investors now hold or plan to hold crypto, according to EY-Parthenon.

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SEC to Host First Crypto Trading Roundtable on April 11

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will host its first crypto-focused trading roundtable on April 11 in Washington, D.C. The event will feature executives from Coinbase, Uniswap, FalconX, and the New York Stock Exchange, discussing crypto market structure and regulation. Led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, the roundtable aims to chart a clearer regulatory path for digital assets.

The discussion is part of a four-part series organized by the SEC’s new Crypto Task Force, launched by Acting Chair Mark Uyeda in January. The meeting will also include representatives from UC Berkeley, Texture Capital, and Cumberland DRW. Scheduled from 1-5 PM ET, the session will be accessible in-person and online.

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Trump's World Liberty Financial Proposes USD1 Airdrop

World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform linked to President Donald Trump, proposed an airdrop of its new USD1 stablecoin to early WLFI token holders on Monday. The company said the test would validate its on-chain distribution system and thank supporters ahead of USD1’s broader rollout. USD1 is backed by U.S. Treasuries and issued on Ethereum.

The proposal comes amid growing scrutiny over WLFI’s financial ties to the Trump family, including $390 million in reported payouts to DT Marks DEFI LLC.The platform has raised a total of $550 million and faces criticism from lawmakers during the ongoing stablecoin bill debates. Community voting is underway, with most WLFI holders supporting the proposed airdrop.

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Melania Meme Coin Team Dumps $30 Million in Tokens

The team behind Solana's meme coin MELANIA quietly sold over $30 million worth of tokens, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps reported Monday. The funds were moved from team-controlled wallets and partially sent to centralized exchanges without public explanation. Hayden Davis, tied to both MELANIA and the collapsed LIBRA token, has not commented.

The lack of transparency, with team wallets controlling 92% of MELANIA’s supply, has alarmed retail investors and analysts. On top of that, the meme coin has dropped over 95% from its launch-day high, with ongoing sell-offs continuing. Experts warn the actions resemble insider trading and damage market trust, as more funds remain at risk of being offloaded.

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Data of the Day

Weekly active developers in the crypto space fell from 12,380 to about 7,600 between March 2024 and March 2025, a 38.6% drop, according to Artemis Terminal data. The decline spans over 1,500 Web3 ecosystems and signals waning innovation across blockchain platforms. Developer participation is a key indicator of long-term project health and network maintenance.

Industry contributors blame narrative-driven hype and weak incentives for the exodus. Optimism contributor Binji Pande said meaningful on-chain activity has declined, leading to disinterest and fewer engaged builders. He called for renewed focus on developer-led innovation and full-stack product thinking to revive ecosystem growth.

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More Breaking News

• ‍Teucrium is launching the first-ever U.S. XRP ETF Tuesday with 2x leverage, while spot XRP ETFs remain under SEC review and face uncertain investor demand.‍
• Cboe has filed for SEC approval to list Canary Capital’s SUI ETF, moving the altcoin fund closer to market amid rising interest in blockchain infrastructure.‍
• Dubai regulators will connect the city’s real estate registry to tokenized property systems, aiming to attract more global crypto investment into the sector.‍
• WazirX received 93% creditor approval for a restructuring plan that begins payouts within 10 days, following a $230M hack and stalled user withdrawals.‍
• A Nigerian court delayed Binance’s tax case until April 30 to allow time for regulators to respond to the exchange’s motion challenging service procedure.‍
• Galaxy Digital received SEC approval to redomicile from the Cayman Islands to Delaware, with a Nasdaq listing under the ticker GLXY expected in May.‍
• Australia’s securities regulator secured court approval to shut down 95 firms tied to romance and crypto scams in a sweeping move against “pig butchering.”

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