Hidden Road, a Prime Broker That Focuses on Crypto and Traditional Assets, Is Opening an Office in Abu Dhabi

Hidden Road, a prime broker that focuses on crypto and traditional assets, which recently agreed to be acquired by Ripple, is opening an office in Abu Dhabi

Crypto and traditional asset prime broker Hidden Road, which recently agreed to be acquired by Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) in a $1.25 billion deal, is opening an office in Abu Dhabi.

The office will be led by James Stickland, a partner at the firm, two people familiar with the matter told Block in an email. One of them added that a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family could potentially join the board of the company’s local entity when it receives final regulatory approval.

Hidden Road confirmed the plans. The company has received in-principle approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the company said in a press release seen by Block on Thursday.

Once Hidden Road receives this final approval, it will be authorized to offer clearing and prime brokerage services to institutional investors in the UAE, the company added.

They are not the only firm making moves in the region. Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, said it received in-principle regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi last month, paving the bật the way for an expansion across the Middle East.

Prime brokers are an essential part of the plumbing of financial markets. They provide trading, financing and custody services to large institutions.

Stickland is the former CEO of Elwood Technologies and Elwood Asset Management, the crypto firm backed by billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard. He joined Hidden Road a little over a year ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Earlier this month, Ripple agreed to buy multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, in one of the biggest M&A deals in the digital asset industry to date.

The crypto company, headed by Brad Garlinghouse, said it will inject fresh capital into Hidden Road to expand its clearing, prime brokerage and financing operations, with the aim to make the firm the largest non-bank prime broker in the world.

Hidden Road said last month that it had received FINRA approval to operate as a U.S. broker-dealer, further expanding its capabilities with its fixed income prime brokerage platform.