A quiet but monumental shift is underway in global finance. Ripple’s RLUSD is edging closer to the heart of the traditional financial system through its connection with Hidden Road and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) — the backbone of modern securities trading.
What was once dismissed as speculation is now aligning into a potential trillion-dollar bridge between crypto liquidity and institutional settlement rails.
Ripple’s Institutional Push with RLUSD
Ripple’s entry into the stablecoin market through RLUSD in December 2024 marked a significant strategic move. Designed as a fully backed, dollar-pegged digital asset, RLUSD was never intended for speculative retail use.
Instead, Ripple built it to serve as a settlement and liquidity tool for banks, payment providers, and large-scale financial institutions, complementing XRP’s role as a bridge asset for cross-border payments.
Unlike typical stablecoins that thrive on crypto exchanges, RLUSD is being positioned for regulated, institutional-grade use cases. Its infrastructure integrates transparency, compliance, and interoperability — three qualities that make it appealing to major players seeking on-chain liquidity solutions compatible with existing financial regulations.
Hidden Road will process QUADRILLIONS through DTCC annually with RLUSD.
It’s only a matter of time… XRP https://t.co/WFLP23ge4mpic.twitter.com/N5ZhSdkhrV
— Chad Steingraber (@ChadSteingraber) October 16, 2025
Hidden Road: The Institutional On-Ramp
Hidden Road Partners, a global prime broker and institutional credit network, has emerged as a critical link in Ripple’s broader strategy. Known for serving hedge funds, asset managers, and liquidity providers, Hidden Road provides access to both traditional and digital asset markets through its unified infrastructure.
In 2025, Hidden Road became a member of the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) — a subsidiary of the DTCC responsible for clearing and settling U.S. government and mortgage-backed securities. This membership grants Hidden Road access to one of the world’s most critical clearing systems, processing quadrillions of dollars in trades annually.
Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road earlier this year was not just a financial move but a strategic integration of crypto-native liquidity with the world’s most robust post-trade network.
DTCC: The Backbone of Global Market Settlement
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is often referred to as the “plumbing” of the financial markets. It provides clearing, settlement, and custody services for securities transactions — essentially ensuring that every stock, bond, and fund trade clears smoothly between buyers and sellers.
Through its subsidiaries, such as the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and FICC, the DTCC holds and settles securities in electronic form, eliminating paper-based transactions and increasing market efficiency.
On average, it handles over $2.5 quadrillion worth of securities transactions annually, underscoring its importance as the silent powerhouse of the global financial system.
A Glimpse into the Future
Game designer and crypto analyst Chad Steingraber recently drew attention to this convergence, posting that “Hidden Road will process QUADRILLIONS through DTCC annually with RLUSD. It’s only a matter of time… XRP.”
His comment highlights that Ripple’s ecosystem is preparing RLUSD to work with the same systems that handle big institutional transactions globally.
If RLUSD becomes embedded in these clearing systems through Hidden Road’s DTCC connection, it could redefine how institutional liquidity flows between fiat and crypto economies — potentially scaling into the quadrillions.
The Implications for XRP and Global Finance
While Steingraber’s projection refers to theoretical capacity rather than confirmed volumes, the implications are enormous. Integrating RLUSD into DTCC-linked infrastructure could bridge digital assets directly into institutional clearing, giving Ripple a front-row seat in the modernization of settlement technology.
For XRP holders, this alignment reinforces the token’s utility as part of Ripple’s broader financial network — a world where XRP and RLUSD complement each other, connecting on-chain and off-chain liquidity for global institutions.
In conclusion, if Ripple succeeds in operationalizing RLUSD through Hidden Road’s DTCC-cleared network, it would mark one of the most significant integrations of blockchain technology into traditional finance.
The idea that a Ripple-issued stablecoin could move through the same pipes as government securities underscores a paradigm shift: crypto is no longer outside the system — it is becoming the system.
As Chad Steingraber suggested, it may only be a matter of time before RLUSD — and by extension, XRP — plays a measurable role in processing quadrillions in global financial flows.