Hidden Road, a distinguished global credit network catering to institutional traders in the digital asset space, has significantly bolstered its prime brokerage platform by incorporating a cadre of major cryptocurrency exchanges. Concurrently, it has expanded the utilization of BlackRock’s BUIDL token, now accepting it as collateral across its extensive network.

The company, in a recent press release, disclosed its integration with Coinbase International Exchange, building upon its previous collaboration with Coinbase Exchange in 2022. Additionally, it has added OKX (inclusive of Nitro Spreads), Deribit (encompassing options), Bitfinex, Bullish (CoinDesk’s parent entity), AsiaNext, and SIX Digital Exchange to its platform.

In an environment where interest rates are soaring, institutions transacting in digital assets to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars are inclined to seize the opportunity to earn approximately 5% virtually risk-free from holding a BlackRock money market fund token. Michael Higgins, Hidden Road’s global head of business development, emphasized that non-carry assets present a challenge when clients can leverage BlackRock’s BUIDL token as collateral and accrue interest.

“Clients can post collateral to Hidden Road in the form of the BUIDL token, and we recognize that as viable margin,” Higgins stated during an interview. “Hidden Road subsequently finances those trades on the relevant exchange using, for instance, USDT or USDC, enabling the client to engage in trading while posting interest-earning assets to us.”

Benefiting from its pre-existing partnership with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Hidden Road is equipped to cross-margin and margin finance digital asset tokens like BUIDL on the CME, Higgins noted.

“Historically, clients could only post bitcoin as collateral, with Hidden Road providing margin financing to trade on the CME, but without interest accrual on the bitcoin. Now, they can still post bitcoin, but also have the option to post BUIDL as collateral, receiving dollar funding on the CME and earning interest,” he elaborated. “To our knowledge, we are the sole clearing firm allowing customers to post digital assets as margin for trading on the CME.”

In conjunction with the addition of new exchanges, liquidity providers such as B2C2, IMC, and Laser Digital, along with software vendors Talos and TT, have also joined Hidden Road’s network, further enhancing its service offering.