Ripple Prime has launched swaps for institutional clients linked to more than 100 perpetual markets for traditional assets operated by Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid. Clients do not trade the perpetual contracts directly. Instead, they enter into swaps with Ripple Prime as counterparty and can manage the resulting positions alongside other holdings in its prime-brokerage business.
The structure gives institutions access to around-the-clock price movements in assets such as equities and commodities while incorporating margin management into an existing prime-brokerage relationship. As trading in traditional-asset perpetuals expands, the product also shows how digital-asset market infrastructure is being used to extend trading hours and settlement arrangements for traditional markets.
Ripple Prime Takes the Other Side of the Swap
The swaps track the performance of perpetual contracts listed by Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid. Institutional clients obtain exposure through Ripple Prime, but do not directly hold the underlying assets or trade Trade.xyz’s contracts through the service.
Perpetual contracts have no fixed expiry, and the related markets remain open around the clock. That allows trading desks to adjust positions outside regular market hours without rolling contracts at scheduled maturities. Michael Higgins, chief executive of Ripple Prime’s international business, said some clients pair perpetual positions with the underlying assets to trade the spread between them, while others take directional positions, including outside conventional market hours.
Trading volumes in traditional-asset perpetuals have also grown. Over the past year, aggregate open interest across related markets on several major platforms increased from close to zero to about $9 billion. For institutions, 24/7 access can complement regular trading sessions, but the swap’s actual counterparty remains Ripple Prime, while its reference price comes from Trade.xyz markets on Hyperliquid. The two entities therefore play separate roles in the product structure.
Cross-Margining and RLUSD Collateral
Ripple Prime says clients can manage the new swaps on a cross-margin basis with other eligible positions. For institutions active across multiple asset classes, that could allow collateral to be managed within an existing prime-brokerage relationship rather than through separate funding pools at each trading venue. Where eligible, clients can also post RLUSD, the stablecoin issued by Ripple, as collateral.
Virtu Financial has begun trading the swaps. Scotte Moegling, the firm’s head of digital-asset business development, said the around-the-clock cross-margin arrangement could help Virtu expand its activities in emerging liquidity markets. His comments highlight that, alongside extended trading hours, institutions are assessing how margin arrangements connect with their existing positions.
Ripple acquired multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road in February 2025 and renamed it Ripple Prime. The acquisition gave Ripple Prime access to on-chain derivatives markets on Hyperliquid. The new product extends that connection to markets referencing traditional assets.
Availability Remains Limited by Region
Other platforms are also introducing perpetual products tied to traditional assets. Deribit is rolling out more than 90 USDC-settled contracts covering both crypto and traditional assets. Unlike an exchange that lists and operates its own contracts, Ripple Prime provides the swap and collateral-management relationship in this offering, while the reference contracts are operated by Trade.xyz.
For now, the swaps are available only through Ripple Prime’s business operating under a British Virgin Islands (BVI) licence. Ripple has said it plans to expand the service to additional regions, but has not disclosed which jurisdictions will be added or when. The timetable for that expansion and the products available in each market remain subject to further details from the company.