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Ripple Prime has launched institutional swaps referencing more than 100 perpetual markets for traditional assets, whose underlying contracts trade on Hyperliquid. Clients face Ripple Prime on the swaps and can manage them alongside positions held through the prime broker.
Clients trade swaps, not futures
Trade.xyz lists the referenced futures on Hyperliquid, but institutions using this service do not trade those contracts directly. Instead, Ripple Prime is counterparty to a swap that tracks the futures price, providing exposure to traditional assets without acquiring them.
As the underlying markets trade around the clock and have no fixed expiry, desks can maintain positions beyond normal market sessions without transferring into a new contract. Bloomberg was told by Michael Higgins, Ripple Prime's international CEO, that clients may take a directional position outside regular hours or pair a perpetual with its underlying asset to trade the price difference.
Collateral can cross positions
Ripple Prime says clients can cross-margin the swaps against other supported positions. The company also says its RLUSD stablecoin can be posted as collateral where available, potentially keeping collateral management within an existing prime-broker relationship rather than separate pools for each venue.
Access remains limited by region
Virtu Financial is already trading the swaps. Scotte Moegling, digital-assets business development head at the firm, said round-the-clock cross-margining supports Virtu's expansion into emerging liquidity pools.
Ripple acquired multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road in February 2025, gaining access to Hyperliquid for on-chain derivatives; this launch extends that link to traditional-asset markets. Open interest in perpetuals tied to stocks, commodities and other traditional assets rose from almost nothing to about $9 billion across several major venues over the past year, Bloomberg reported. Finance Magnates also reported that Deribit is rolling out more than 90 USDC-settled contracts across crypto and traditional assets. Ripple Prime offers swaps around markets run by Trade.xyz rather than listing the futures itself. The service is currently available through Ripple Prime's BVI-licensed business. The company plans to add regions but has not named them or given a timetable.
What this means on the desk
The operational change sits at the prime-broker and collateral layer: a desk can gain exposure to Trade.xyz perpetual markets without trading those futures directly. Operators should check which positions qualify for cross-margining, how swap valuations and collateral are reconciled with the underlying market, and whether RLUSD collateral is available to their account and region.
Ripple has not specified the next regions or when they will be added. The source does not give swap fees, margin parameters or settlement workflows, so firms will need to establish those details with the prime broker before assessing the operating and reporting impact of holding positions around the clock.
