Hidden Road, the prime brokerage platform recently acquired by Ripple, has officially launched a digital assets prime brokerage for the U.S. market, giving institutional investors access to over-the-counter (OTC) crypto swaps.

The new offering will allow U.S.-based institutional clients to execute cash-settled OTC swaps across several tokens. The product will be operated through Hidden Road’s UK-based, FCA-regulated entity, Hidden Road Partners CIV UK Ltd. The expansion also includes cross-margining and financing services for digital assets.

“The United States digital asset market has long been under-served from a product standpoint,” said Michael Higgins, International CEO and Global Head of Corporate Development at Hidden Road, in a Thursday release.

“While OTC swaps represent a significant portion of digital asset trading volumes globally, until now, they were largely unavailable to U.S. institutions. With the launch of our swap prime brokerage capabilities, we can provide clients with access to an expanded range of products and solutions.”

OTC swaps are trades that occur privately rather than on a public exchange, and are commonly used by institutional players to execute large trades discreetly, preventing significant price swings on open markets.

Ripple acquired Hidden Road in April in a $1.25 billion deal, aiming to help expand the platform globally as a non-bank prime broker in the digital asset space.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (IBIT) is experiencing record-low volatility, according to Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, which is attracting more interest from larger investors looking for a «digital gold» rather than speculative tech-like behavior.

The 90-day rolling volatility of 47.64 is the lowest since the ETF was introduced in January 2024, Balchunas posted on X, a degree of stability that can be self-reinforcing. As volatility drops, larger and more risk-averse investors tend to enter, which in turn further suppresses volatility.

«The thing with volatility is it can become self-fulfilling,» Balchunas said in his post. «The lower the volatility gets, the more bigger investors will bite who will help lower volatility even more. The same ‘should’ happen with correlation too. This is a direct result of the ‘suitcoiners.’”

The trend is already underway, Balchunas said, citing IBIT’s outsized inflows in recent weeks. Since its debut, IBIT has pulled in $49 billion in net inflows, more than four times the amount invested into the second-ranked Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which has attracted less than $12 billion, data from Farside Investors show.

In contrast, Strategy (MSTR), the software company that has made buying bitcoin BTC a strategic priority, operates on a different appeal. MSTR attracts speculators and options traders who thrive on higher implied volatility (IV). However, even MSTR’s IV has dipped recently to 60%, with historical volatility at 49%, contributing to its muted price action.

Dogecoin DOGE nosedived 9%, while Cardano’s ADA ADA and Solana’s SOL SOL each fell 6% in the past 24 hours as Trump’s reinstated tariffs reignited trade tensions.

A swift legal reversal saw the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issue a temporary stay on Wednesday’s lower court ruling that had struck down the tariffs, allowing them to remain in place while the government appeals.

The tariffs, announced on April 2 and dubbed “Liberation Day” duties by Trump, target nearly all U.S. trading partners and were imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Bitcoin BTC slid below $106,000 while ether ETH lost the $2,700 mark amid the renewed uncertainty. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market capitalization, fell 4%.

“The price of Bitcoin fell after Trump’s tariffs were reinstated by an appeals court, while U.S. GDP figures showed the economy shrank in the first quarter,” said Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, in a Telegram message.

“Gold surged higher as jobless claims increased and corporate profits fell. Although the Fed continues to see inflation as a threat, we’re optimistic that Bitcoin will rebound as investors look for long-term value holds during volatile market fluctuations,” Ruck added.

Market sentiment appeared cautious, with the total crypto market capitalization flat at $3.42 trillion.

“Cryptocurrencies prefer not to notice positive stock market movements as they are related to tariffs and company reports, not money supply,” noted Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, in an email to CoinDesk.

“Bitcoin retreated from the trading range’s upper boundary at $110k to its lower boundary at $107K. This rest at previous highs effectively removes the local overheating of the market.”