Ripple Prime, the institutional brokerage division of Ripple, has introduced a new prime brokerage offering that allows clients to maintain perpetual positions across multiple asset classes—including stocks, commodities, indices, and foreign exchange—at any hour. The feature, announced on October 15, leverages swaps tied to perpetual futures listed on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange.
Expanded asset access through perpetual swaps
Virtu, a leading global market-making firm, is among the first institutions to adopt Ripple Prime’s new product. These swaps provide exposure to more than 100 different markets, covering equities, indices, exchange-traded funds, metals, energy products, and forex pairs. Trading and settlement are available continuously, including weekends, enabling institutions to respond instantly to market developments worldwide.
Clients interact with these swaps entirely through their Ripple Prime account; they do not trade directly on Hyperliquid. Ripple Prime acts as principal for each swap contract, mirroring the pricing and performance of perpetual futures markets listed on the Hyperliquid platform by Trade.xyz.
Perpetual futures, which have no expiration, allow clients to keep positions open indefinitely as long as required margin is maintained. This flexibility supports various trading strategies and round-the-clock engagement across traditional and digital markets.
Swaps held in a Ripple Prime account can be cross-margined against other supported assets, which helps institutions optimize capital efficiency and risk management. Clients may post Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral for these positions, although this feature’s availability depends on local regulations and client jurisdiction. The company emphasized its approach of offering a single counterparty framework with unified margin and risk visibility.
| Feature | Ripple Prime Swaps | Traditional Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Trading hours | 24/7, including weekends | Limited to exchange hours |
| Assets covered | Stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, forex | Varies by venue |
| Settlement | Continuous | Clearing cycles |
| Collateral type | RLUSD stablecoin, others | Usually fiat, securities |
Industry perspectives and global rollout
Michael Higgins, Ripple Prime’s international CEO, commented on the launch, noting the convergence between traditional and digital markets through the new swaps. He highlighted institutions’ growing demand for access to asset classes like equities, commodities, and currencies, combined with the continuous access and operational efficiencies made possible by digital infrastructures.
Ripple Prime’s international CEO Michael Higgins described RWA swaps as the meeting point of digital and traditional markets, emphasizing that institutional clients increasingly seek full-time access and the benefits of digital infrastructure for a broader set of assets.
Scotte Moegling, Virtu’s head of business development for digital assets, stated that the cross-margin capabilities in Ripple Prime’s platform allow the trading firm to increase its efficiency as financial markets transition toward non-stop trading.
Virtu’s Scotte Moegling underscored the importance of cross-margining, saying it allows the company to support an expanding global presence and adapt quickly as institutional trading becomes more continuous.
Regional rollout and earlier steps
Currently, access to the new swaps offering is available only under Ripple Prime’s CIV BVI regulatory license. Ripple intends to expand into additional jurisdictions, but did not specify a timeline or regions in the initial announcement.
This development follows Ripple Prime’s February integration with Hyperliquid, which initially enabled clients to collateralize onchain derivatives within the same account as other asset classes. The new product further extends these cross-asset and cross-platform capabilities.
Trade.xyz, the company listing these perpetual markets on Hyperliquid, already offers an officially licensed S&P 500 perpetual contract. This product, which debuted in March, was launched after S&P Dow Jones Indices granted express licensing approval. Hyperliquid, as a decentralized trading platform, enables users to trade derivatives without an intermediary, supporting increased accessibility and transparency.
Mini dictionary: Hyperliquid is a decentralized derivatives exchange offering continuous, onchain trading of perpetual futures contracts across multiple asset classes, providing non-stop market access outside traditional exchange hours.
