Ripple's Hidden Road Acquisition: A Game-Changer for XRP?

With the SEC's recent change to how these entities handle clearing and settlement, Ripple's blockchain, its token and recently introduced RLUSD stablecoin are in the spotlight.

Ripple's recent acquisition of Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm and part of the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC), has sparked lively discussion among crypto enthusiasts. As pointed out by community member Matthew, FICC's Government Securities Division (GSD) handles around $11 trillion in daily clearing volume in 2025.

If a portion of this volume is channeled through Ripple's blockchain, its token (XRP) and recently introduced RLUSD stablecoin, it could have interesting implications for the token's price.

To put this in perspective, XRP currently trades at $2.45 with a 58 billion circulating supply and a 24-hour volume of $3.6 billion.

If we consider that Hidden Road is now integrated into Ripple's institutional payment infrastructure, and if a minimal part of the FICC's volume is assumed to be cleared using XRP, we can calculate the potential impact on the token price.

This integration is significant due to a few factors:

• The FICC GSD is a central clearing house for U.S. Treasury securities, a market with an average daily trading volume of $1.56 trillion in 2025.

• The substantial volume is a product of the FEDS (Federal Reserve Bank) and a few large institutions participating in the clearing, contributing to the $11 trillion figure.

• As a final clearing house, the FICC GSD plays a crucial role in settling transactions and ensuring the smooth functioning of the financial system.

Now, it would be physically impossible to use XRP to handle Hidden Roads transactions. For instance, assuming the token is used to settle $1T daily volume, then the required number of coins would be 408 billion. However, the maximum supply of XRP is 100 billion, which is physically impossible to achieve.

Instead, we can explore three scenarios focusing on the use of RLUSD stablecoin to settle transactions on the XRP Ledger. Every single transaction on the ledger incurs a small fee, which is later burned. The same would be the case for using RLUSD to settle massive institutional transactions, leading to a reduction in the total supply of XRP.

Scenario 1: Minimal Adoption, Captures 1% of $11T Volume

If 1% of the FICC GSD's volume, around $110 billion, is settled daily on the XRP Ledger using RLUSD, and the average transaction fee is $0.0001, then 110 billion x 0.0001 = 11 million XRP would be burned daily.

Considering an optimistic scenario with an average price of $50 (which is more than triple the current price), the resulting price increase from burning 11 million XRP at $50 would be $550 million.

This minimal level of adoption would contribute a small portion to the token's price movements.

Scenario 2: Moderate Adoption, Captures 5% of $11T Volume

If 5% of the FICC GSD's volume, around $550 billion, is settled on the XRP Ledger daily, and the average transaction fee is $0.0001, then 550 billion x 0.0001 = 55 million XRP would be burned daily.

Again, assuming an optimistic scenario with an average price of $50 and a 58 billion circulating supply, the resulting price increase from burning 55 million XRP at $50 would be $2.75 billion.

This moderate level of adoption would contribute a more significant portion to the token's price movements.

Scenario 3: Heavy Adoption Captures Greater Than 10% of $11T Volume

If 10% of the FICC GSD's volume, around $1.1 trillion, is settled on the XRP Ledger daily, and the average transaction fee is $0.0001, then 1.1 trillion x 0.0001 = 110 million XRP would be burned daily.

Assuming an optimistic scenario with an average price of $50 and a 58 billion circulating supply, the resulting price increase from burning 110 million XRP at $50 would be $5.5 billion.

This high level of adoption would contribute a substantial portion to the token's price movements.

The possibilities are vast, especially when considering that the current circulating supply of XRP is 58 billion.

The possibilities are vast, especially when considering that the current circulating supply of XRP is 58 billion. If we take the optimistic scenario of 10% of the FICC GSD's volume being settled on the XRP Ledger, it would lead to the burning of 110 million XRP daily.

Now, if we assume an average price