Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Ripple announced it has acquired crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, crypto lawyer James Murphy has filed an FOIA lawsuit to find out information about a supposed meeting between Satoshi Nakamoto and the US Department of Homeland Security, and Pakistan has tapped former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao as an adviser to its national crypto council.Ripple acquires crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billionBlockchain-based payments network Ripple announced it has acquired crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road in one of the largest mergers in the cryptocurrency industry to date.Ripple is acquiring Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, the company officially announced on April 8.The deal will make Ripple the first crypto firm to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker. According to the company’s April 8 announcement, the acquisition is expected to position Ripple as the world’s largest non-bank prime broker, with Hidden Road currently clearing more than $3 trillion across more than 300 institutions.The acquisition also aims to reinforce the position of Ripple USD (RLUSD), an institution-focused stablecoin launched by Ripple in December 2024.Ripple has been a customer of Hidden Road for years and “knows their breadth of expertise firsthand,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an X post on April 8.He also mentioned that Hidden Road’s $3 trillion in annual clearing will tap into Ripple-backed XRP and its underlying decentralized, public blockchain, the XRP Ledger (XRPL).“Instead of waiting for up to 24 hours to settle trades through fiat rails, Hidden Road will be using XRPL for clearing a portion of trades, and most consequentially, using RLUSD as collateral across its prime brokerage services,” Garlinghouse wrote on X.Lawyer sues US homeland dept to probe supposed Satoshi Nakamoto meetingA crypto lawyer has sued the US Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agency may know who created Bitcoin — compelling the department to share what it knows. The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was filed by James Murphy, who based his accusations on claims made by DHS Special Agent Rana Saoud at a conference in April 2019, where she said a few of her colleagues had previously met with four people involved in creating Bitcoin.“My FOIA lawsuit simply asks for the notes, email and other documents relating to that alleged interview,” Murphy posted to X after announcing the April 7 suit. “IF the interview really happened as the DHS Agent claimed, there should be documentation of the substance of that meeting,” added Murphy, who goes by MetaLawMan on X.If the DHS resists disclosure, Murphy said he will “pursue the case to conclusion” to solve the mystery.Pakistan appoints Changpeng Zhao as crypto adviser as adoption heats upFormer Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has been appointed as an adviser to Pakistan’s Crypto Council, a newly formed regulatory body tasked with overseeing the country’s embrace of blockchain technology and digital assets. The appointment was confirmed by Pakistan’s finance ministry and reported by Bloomberg on April 7. Zhao will advise the regulatory body on cryptocurrency regulation, infrastructure and adoption, Bloomberg reported.In March, the CEO of Pakistan’s Crypto Council, Bilal bin Saqib, told Bloomberg that the country plans to develop a clear regulatory framework for digital assets.“Pakistan is done sitting on the sidelines,” Saqib said. “We want to attract international investment because Pakistan is a low-cost high-growth market with [...] a Web3 native workforce ready to build.”