Ripple has quietly built a broad financial infrastructure through a series of acquisitions, prompting some market experts to say the blockchain firm is now moving faster than traditional banking giants.
Speaking in a recent discussion, expert Allan Staple said Ripple’s purchases of firms such as Hidden Road, now rebranded as Ripple Prime, along with treasury and payments-focused platforms, marked a turning point in how the company is positioning itself.
He said the Hidden Road acquisition in particular was a “warning shot,” noting the brokerage’s large annual transaction volumes and its role in institutional markets.
From Crypto Firm to Full Financial Platform
Staple said Ripple is no longer acting like a narrow crypto company. Instead, he described it as building the foundations of a full-scale financial institution.
According to him, Ripple has already secured important pieces of the financial system, including brokerage services, payments infrastructure, stablecoin rails and early positioning in exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.
He added that only a small number of digital assets have gained access to ETF markets so far, and those that did benefited from greater regulatory clarity and investor access.
Comparison With JPMorgan
Staple argued that this pace of execution has allowed Ripple to move ahead of legacy institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, particularly in terms of technology and speed.
He said traditional banks face structural limits that make it harder for them to adapt quickly, while Ripple has been able to build modern systems designed specifically for global, real-time money movement.
“JPMorgan is behind them now in that race,” Staple said, referring to the competition to modernize financial infrastructure.
What an IPO Could Mean
Staple also said a potential Rippl