Michael Higgins is the International Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Global Head of Corporate Development at Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm for digital and traditional assets. With a career spanning nearly two decades, he has extensive experience in foreign exchange (FX), digital asset prime brokerage, institutional sales, and algorithmic trading technologies. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Higgins attended Fordham University in New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Statistics. His academic background provided a foundation for his career in quantitative and electronic trading environments. ^{[3] [1] [13]}

Career

Higgins began his career in the financial industry in 2005 as a Sales Trader at FXCM. Over a decade-long tenure with the firm, he progressed through the ranks, eventually becoming the Director of Institutional FX Sales for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. During this time, he supported the company's institutional offerings, including FXCM Prime Brokerage and FastMatch, which later became Euronext FX. After leaving FXCM in mid-2015, he had a brief period as the Global Head of Sales and Distribution at X Markets Trading, which served as the basis for working with blockchain technology.

Following his time at X Markets Trading, Higgins co-founded and served as Managing Director of Coronam ec, a London-based firm specializing in multi-asset algorithmic trading. At Coronam, he was responsible for developing and managing the distribution network for automated algorithmic pricing and risk management solutions across various asset classes, including FX, equities, fixed income, and commodities.

In 2019, Higgins joined Hidden Road, a prime brokerage firm founded in 2018, as a Partner and the Head of EMEA and the UK. In this initial role, he was responsible for establishing and growing the firm's presence in the region. He was subsequently promoted to Global Head of Business Development, where he oversaw the company's worldwide growth strategies. In October 2024, Higgins was promoted to International CEO, taking on a broader leadership mandate for the firm's global operations while also holding the title of Global Head of Corporate Development.

As a key executive at Hidden Road, Higgins has been a public spokesperson for several of the company's major strategic initiatives. These include the expansion of its services to include Over-the-Counter (OTC) options and digital asset swaps for the U.S. market, as well as the integration of tokenized assets like BlackRock's BUIDL token for use as collateral. ^{[5] [6] [7] [2] [1] [3] [4] [12] [13]}

Public Statements

Higgins has articulated Hidden Road's strategy and value proposition in various public announcements and interviews.

In a discussion about the firm's core business model, he stated:

"We provide access to many things, but there are two main ones: access to all the liquidity trading destinations and access to financing. It is the combination of those two access points that allow institutions to trade across the whole ecosystem in a capital and cost-efficient way.” ^[2]

He also clarified the company's market positioning:

“We are a sell-side business like a bank but operated with buy-side capital. We have stepped into a highly regulated environment. We run a highly regulated infrastructure to service that part of the ecosystem as well as even the largest names because the largest names don't always get in single clear their business.” ^[2]

Regarding the launch of digital asset swaps for U.S. institutions in May 2025, Higgins commented on the market need:

"The United States digital asset market has long been under-served from a product standpoint. 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 for the United States market, we can provide clients with access to an expanded range of products and solutions.” ^[6]

When Hidden Road announced its support for OTC options prime brokerage in July 2025, he highlighted the firm's unique capabilities:

"Hidden Road is the first and only prime broker to support cross-margining across all major digital asset product types, including spot, swaps, options, forwards, and cleared derivatives – driving meaningful operational and capital efficiencies.” ^[5]

In July 2024, Higgins explained the firm's decision to accept BlackRock's BUIDL token as collateral, emphasizing the capital efficiency benefits for clients in a high-interest-rate environment:

"Clients can post collateral to Hidden Road in the form of the BUIDL token, and we would recognize that as good margin. Hidden Road then finances those trades on the relevant exchange with, say, USDT or USDC, so the client can actually trade while posting assets to us that earn interest." ^[7]

He also noted Hidden Road's distinct position in clearing for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME):

"As far as we know, we are the only clearing firm that allows customers to post digital assets as margin to trade on the CME." ^[7]

Interviews

Fintech Conversations #01

On February 29, 2024, Michael Higgins, Global Head of Business Development at Hidden Road Partners, was interviewed by CJ Lengua on At the Forefront: Fintech Conversations. During the discussion, Higgins outlined the background of Hidden Road, its operational model, and its recent initiatives.

He explained that the company was established following the withdrawal of several banks from prime brokerage and clearing services, with the intention of providing an alternative framework supported by buy-side capital. Higgins noted that Hidden Road focuses on areas such as clearing, margin financing, and multi-asset prime brokerage.

He also referred to the firm’s use of technology in its clearing infrastructure, which is designed to provide cross-asset and real-time risk monitoring. In the interview, he described the introduction of Route 28, a synthetic prime brokerage platform offering multi-asset swaps, as part of this broader strategy.

Higgins further commented on the firm’s expansion into digital asset clearing and stated that the organization’s approach is aimed at facilitating access to diverse liquidity sources in global markets. ^[14]

RULEMATCH Spot On #02

On June 20, 2024, Michael Higgins, Global Head of Business Development at Hidden Road Partners, participated in an interview on the YouTube program RULEMATCH Spot On. In the discussion, he outlined his perspective on how prime brokerage functions are being applied to the digital asset sector.

Higgins noted that institutional involvement in crypto markets faces challenges such as fragmented liquidity, counterparty exposure, and the absence of standardized post-trade settlement systems. He explained that prime brokerage models, traditionally present in other financial markets, can address these issues through credit intermediation, margin financing, and centralized clearing processes.

He also drew comparisons between the foreign exchange and digital asset markets, pointing to similarities in liquidity structures and the role of credit providers. Developments such as spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and regulated futures markets on venues like CME were cited as examples of steps contributing to the integration of traditional and digital financial markets.

Higgins further observed that regulatory oversight, standardized legal frameworks, and custody arrangements are expected to play a central role in shaping the infrastructure of the industry. According to his view, these elements will influence how institutions engage with digital assets and how the market evolves toward broader adoption. ^[15]