Ripple, a leading crypto payments firm, is acquiring brokerage house Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest mergers in the cryptocurrency sector. This deal follows a recent surge in crypto market activity fueled by regulatory developments and renewed investor optimism.

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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted the timing, stating, “We are at an inflection point for the next phase of digital asset adoption — the U.S. market is effectively open for the first time due to the regulatory overhang of the former SEC coming to an end, and the market is maturing to address the needs of traditional finance.”

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Hidden Road processes $3 trillion annually and serves over 300 top institutional clients, including hedge funds. This acquisition aligns with Ripple’s goal to expand its influence within traditional finance.

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The crypto sector has seen significant momentum recently. Last month, Kraken announced plans to buy retail futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. Stablecoin issuer Circle and trading platform eToro have also filed for IPOs, though market instability may impact these plans.

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Venture funding for crypto and blockchain startups reached $3.8 billion across 220 deals in Q1, a 138% increase from the previous quarter. This surge was largely driven by Binance’s $2 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based MGX, the largest single investment in a crypto company to date.

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