What happened?
Ripple launched Ripple Prime in the U.S., rolling out digital asset spot prime brokerage services after acquiring Hidden Road. The new platform lets clients execute OTC spot trades across major cryptocurrencies and Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin while combining custody, clearing, and trading. It also supports cross-margining and single-account management for OTC spot, swaps, and CME futures and options.
Who does this affect?
U.S.-based institutional players — asset managers, hedge funds, banks, brokers, and existing Hidden Road clients — can use the service for trading, custody, and settlement. Institutional users of XRP and RLUSD stand to gain easier access, deeper liquidity, and more compliant settlement options. Competing prime brokers, market makers, and custodians will feel pressure as Ripple Prime competes on fees, integration, and product scope.
Why does this matter?
This creates a regulated, one-stop institutional on-ramp that’s likely to boost trading volumes and institutional flows into digital assets. Better liquidity, cross-margining, and integrated settlement should tighten spreads, lower costs, and increase demand for RLUSD and XRP as settlement rails. Overall, the move could accelerate market maturity, spur competition among prime brokers, and draw more traditional financial activity into regulated crypto infrastructure.