The Crypto Basic

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. 

Phil Kwok, co-founder of EasyA, says the XRP Ledger was built for a world that is only now beginning to understand its purpose.

In a recent post, Kwok argued that the XRP Ledger was “ahead of its time”. He stressed that the world increasingly needs a neutral bridge currency, and that XRP was designed to fill exactly that role.

Key Points

• EasyA co-founder Phil Kwok says the XRP Ledger was built for today’s fragmented world.
• He argues XRP’s neutral bridge design grows stronger as geopolitical tensions reshape finance.
• Kwok says stablecoins can’t solve neutrality, despite growth of USDC and Ripple’s RLUSD push.
• In his view, XRP was built for this moment as a liquidity layer above sovereign divides.

Neutral Bridge Currency in a Fractured World

Kwok’s core thesis centers on the idea of neutrality. As geopolitical tensions rise in the Middel East and global alliances shift, he believes the financial system will demand infrastructure that is not tied to any single government or ideology.

According to him, XRP’s original design as a bridge asset becomes more relevant in such an environment.

In the early days of crypto, before stablecoins became dominant, projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP were created to enable value transfer without traditional banking rails. 

For the XRP Ledger, one of its defining features was auto-bridging. This feature allows users to move between two currencies efficiently by routing through XRP when direct liquidity was limited.

Instead of requiring trading pairs between every global currency combination, XRP could sit in the middle, reducing the need for countless illiquid pairs and improving efficiency. Kwok described this as one of the most powerful features baked directly into the ledger from its inception.

Stablecoins Didn’t Remove the Need for XRP

Over the past few years, the rapid rise of stablecoins like USDC has led some critics to argue that bridge assets such as XRP are no longer necessary. If users can transact in dollar-backed tokens, the argument goes, why rely on a separate bridge currency?

Kwok disagrees.

He acknowledged that stablecoins have grown exponentially and serve real demand. He also pointed to Ripple’s decision to launch RLUSD as a strategic move that taps into global appetite for dollar exposure.

However, he argued that dollar-denominated stablecoins cannot fully solve the neutrality problem. In a world where some nations seek alternatives to U.S. dollar dominance, relying solely on dollar-backed tokens may not be politically or strategically appealing.

While many countries are comfortable transacting in U.S. dollars, others are exploring alternatives, including settlements in the Chinese renminbi. To Kwok, the implication is that countries may not want to rely entirely on any single national currency. In his view, that is where a neutral bridge asset becomes critical.

Built for This Moment

Kwok emphasized that XRP was specifically designed to sit between currencies without being directly affiliated with a sovereign issuer. He described it as a liquidity layer, a neutral connector, rather than a replacement for fiat currencies.

In times of market turmoil and global uncertainty, he believes this design becomes even more compelling.

He compared the current moment to past accelerative events, such as the COVID era, which disrupted markets in the short term but rapidly advanced industries already well-positioned for digital transformation. 

In the same way that video conferencing tools like Zoom became essential almost overnight, Kwok believes geopolitical strain could accelerate the adoption of new financial rails.

Short-term volatility, he said, does not weaken the thesis. Instead, it may strengthen it.

“The Fundamentals Have Never Been Stronger”

Kwok concluded that rising global tensions reinforce, rather than undermine, the original vision behind the XRP Ledger. In his view, the spark for adoption may already be forming as countries reconsider how they move value across borders.

For him, XRP’s long-standing concept of a neutral bridge currency is no longer theoretical. It is a practical solution to a world that is becoming more fragmented.

Vet, a validator on the XRP Ledger, is reminding holders that earning yield on XRP is never free of risk.

In a recent tweet, he cautioned that for every ounce of yield users get from their XRP, they “are paying for with some amount of risk”. He stressed that many investors do not fully examine where the yield originates before committing their tokens.

According to Vet, yield is a core part of decentralized finance, but due diligence remains essential. He warned users not to overlook the mechanics behind returns, especially as XRP-based DeFi products continue to expand.

Key Point

• Vet, an XRP Ledger validator, warns that every XRP yield comes with hidden risk.
  He says many investors chase returns without understanding custody and counterparty exposure.
• Debate grew around Xaman Wallet and Upshift over who controls deposited XRP.
• As Flare Network expands FXRP and staking, users are urged to balance yield with risk.

Questions Around Custody and Trust

Joining the conversation, X user James Dula asked about who users are actually trusting when depositing XRP into yield platforms. He referenced a message sent to Xaman Wallet founder Wietse Wind, questioning whether users are trusting Xaman itself or Upshift, since XRP is transferred into Upshift’s custody.

Vet responded that the parties involved are transparent, but emphasized that users must read and understand the documentation. He compared the situation to blindly signing transactions without reviewing the details. 

For users with specific concerns, he recommended using in-wallet xApp support to seek clarification directly.

Another community member noted that regulatory clarity and institutional-grade custody solutions would provide greater confidence, adding that spreading funds across multiple platforms may help reduce exposure.

Everyone is transparent, people just need to read and acknowledge. Very similar when people blind sign tx's.

I recommend to use their xApp support inside of the wallet if you have questions specifically to this.

— Vet (@Vet_X0) March 2, 2026

Echoes of Earlier Warnings on High Yields

The caution mirrors concerns raised in September 2025 by Digital Asset Investor. He said he would not participate in any 8–10% XRP yield products, choosing instead to prioritize asset protection. He argued that sacrificing a portion of potential returns would be worthwhile if proper insurance coverage were available.

His stance was shaped by historical collapses involving high-yield promises, from traditional financial frauds to failed crypto lending platforms like Celsius. The message is that attractive annual percentage yields can sometimes mask counterparty risks.

XRP Yield Products Gain Momentum

Despite the warnings, XRP yield opportunities are expanding. 

The Flare Network has integrated XRP into DeFi through its FAssets system, allowing users to mint FXRP, a one-to-one representation of XRP, and deploy it into lending and liquidity strategies. Its upcoming Firelight protocol aims to introduce stXRP, targeting around 7% annual returns.

At Ripple’s Seoul 2025 event, mXRP was unveiled with projected yields of around 10% APY via liquid staking structures.

Recent data shared by Flare CEO Hugo Philion showed that XRP bridged to Flare surged by over 10% in a single day, even as the broader market declined. More than 3 million XRP were deposited within 24 hours, pushing total FXRP supply above 114 million tokens.

The increase signals that many holders are actively putting their XRP to work, even during periods of price weakness.

Balancing Opportunity and Risk

While DeFi innovations are transforming XRP from a payments-focused asset into a yield-generating instrument, the core concern remains custody and counterparty exposure. Converting XRP into wrapped or staked representations often involves smart contracts, bridging mechanisms, and third-party management structures.

Vet’s warning does not dismiss yield opportunities outright. Instead, it reinforces a simple principle: higher returns typically come with trade-offs.

For XRP holders, the key question may not just be how much yield is offered, but how clearly they understand the risks attached to earning it.