PANews reported on April 18 that according to CoinDesk, Hidden Road, a prime broker that is about to be acquired by Ripple, announced on Thursday that it has been approved by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to operate as a broker-dealer in the United States. According to the press release, the license obtained by its subsidiary Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC will enable the company to expand its fixed-income prime brokerage platform. With the status of a broker-dealer, the company plans to provide institutional clients with a wider range of compliance services, covering clearing, financing and prime brokerage of fixed-income assets.

Previously, Hidden Road announced earlier this month that it had reached an agreement with blockchain infrastructure services company Ripple, under which Ripple will acquire Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion, subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to be completed in the next few months.