Ripple Top Executive Says “Seems Important,” as Hidden Road Goes Live on DTCC’s Clearing Corporation

The Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz recently called attention to Hidden Road’s inclusion in the DTCC’s NSCC directory.

For context, Hidden Road (now Ripple Prime), a subsidiary of the blockchain technology firm Ripple, officially went live on the DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) directory on March 2, allowing it to clear trades through the NSCC’s system and settle them on the XRP Ledger.

Key Points

• Hidden Road went live on the NSCC MPID Directory with a First Trade Date of March 02, 2026.
• Approval covers only OTC products, with no authorization for corporates, municipals, or unit investment trusts.
• The NSCC, a subsidiary of DTCC, handles trade netting, risk management, and settlement for U.S. securities markets, processing volumes reaching quadrillions annually.
• Speaking on the development, Ripple’s CTO Emeritus Schwartz emphasized that the inclusion “seems important.”
• Ripple acquired Hidden Road in April 2025 for $1.25 billion, and the firm previously cleared about $3 trillion annually for more than 300 institutional clients.

Hidden Road Goes Live on NSCC

The DTCC shared the update in an Important Notice released through its clearing arm, the NSCC. Notably, XRP community figure Bank was one of the first to spotlight the development.

For context, the notice covered several routine operational updates, including firms leaving services, new firms joining, account number changes, clearing broker updates, and participation adjustments across DTCC services. In the document, the NSCC confirmed that it added “Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC” to its MPID Directory.

According to the notice, Hidden Road began participation with a First Trade Date of March 02, 2026. The listing shows the firm under Clearing Broker PERS with Numeric Code 0443 and names HRFI as the Executing Broker, with the approved product category appearing strictly as OTC.

Importantly, the check mark appears only next to OTC on the list of possible options. The document shows no check marks for Corporates, Municipals, or UITs, which means the firm’s approval applies only to OTC products under this specific change.

“Seems Important”

With the inclusion of Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC under broker code PERS (0443) and the recognition of HRFI as its executing broker, the NSCC now formally adds the firm to its clearing system for OTC trades. This allows the company to process approved OTC transactions through the NSCC’s centralized setup.

David Schwartz, former Ripple CTO, reacted to the development while responding to Bank’s disclosure. “Seems important,” Schwartz stressed on X, aligning with the typically understated tone that crypto projects often adopt when addressing major breakthroughs.

What is the NSCC?

For the uninitiated, the NSCC operates as a subsidiary of the DTCC, which acts as the backbone of U.S. securities clearing.

The NSCC handles trade netting, risk management, and settlement for equities, corporate bonds, municipal securities, OTC products, and Unit Investment Trusts. The DTCC and NSCC process extremely large volumes across financial markets, reaching quadrillions each year. 

As a major part of Wall Street’s post-trade system, the NSCC lets firms submit trades for clearing, reduce counterparty risk through centralized netting, and settle trades efficiently, usually on T+1 or T+2 timelines in many markets. With the recent listing, Hidden Road now connects to that established U.S. clearing framework.

What This Means for Hidden Road

Going live on the NSCC directory will increase Hidden Road’s clearing access. Specifically, the firm can now send eligible OTC trades through the NSCC’s centralized system and settle them on the XRPL. This will specifically bolster its post-trade capabilities and give it a stronger position in regulated U.S. markets.

The MPID Directory listing also helps with smoother trade comparison, netting, and settlement inside the DTCC network. However, the scope is quite narrow for now. Notably, the approval covers only OTC products and does not include corporates, municipals, or UITs.

Meanwhile, this recent move follows earlier regulatory milestones. Last April, Hidden Road secured FINRA broker-dealer approval and gained FICC membership for fixed income and repo clearing. The firm also picked up other entity licenses, building its regulatory base before this latest NSCC update.

Ripple’s $1.25 Billion Bet on Prime Brokerage

Ripple announced its acquisition of Hidden Road in April 2025 in a deal valued at $1.25 billion, one of the largest transactions in the digital assets space. The deal closed later in 2025, after which Hidden Road began operating under the Ripple Prime branding.

The acquisition made Ripple the first crypto company to own and run a global, multi-asset prime broker. Before Ripple completed the acquisition, reports showed that Hidden Road cleared about $3 trillion each year for more than 300 institutional clients.