Ripple launches perpetual swaps covering more than 100 markets for institutions
Key Facts
Ripple announced on 15 October 2026 the availability of real-world asset perpetual swaps through Ripple Prime, covering more than 100 reference markets for institutional clients. The company said in its launch statement that the contracts cover equities, equity indexes and exchange-traded funds, alongside metals, energy and foreign exchange. The service enables round-the-clock swap trading and settlement throughout the week, including weekends. Ripple named Virtu among the institutions already trading these swaps. The offering expands institutional brokerage services at Ripple Prime, which the company describes as an institutional prime broker that does not serve retail clients.
Ripple Prime enters into swap transactions as principal facing the client, according to the company's statement, while the contracts are linked to perpetual futures listed by trade.xyz on Hyperliquid. Support for Hyperliquid was announced on 4 February 2026, before real-world asset swaps were added to the broker's services. That integration enabled cross-margining of decentralized finance exposures with other asset classes supported by Ripple Prime. The new offering also allows clients to cross-margin their real-world asset swap exposures with those asset classes, according to the launch statement. These transactions are executed through the prime brokerage service, which Ripple says is not a trading venue.
Clients can use Ripple's stablecoin, known by the ticker RLUSD, as collateral for real-world asset swap transactions, according to the company. Availability of the currency for this use varies by jurisdiction, according to the qualification accompanying the launch statement. Ripple says the currency is backed by reserves on a 1:1 basis, as part of its official description of its issuance arrangements. These reserves consist of cash, U.S. Treasury securities and government money market funds. The company adds that an independent accounting firm verifies the reserves monthly, while the new product combines acceptance of the stablecoin as collateral with cross-margining for institutions.
Ripple Prime's general risk disclosures warn that it may be impossible to liquidate an existing position in over-the-counter derivatives. The risks listed by the company include the possibility of being unable to value the position itself or assess its associated risk exposure. In the broader context of asset tokenization, HSBC says tokenization does not guarantee liquidity or faster settlement. The bank adds in its general response on tokenization that it "may support more efficient processes." It says these outcomes depend on legal structure, market adoption, infrastructure, liquidity and participant readiness.
Ripple Prime traces its origins to Ripple's acquisition of multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road in a deal with an announced value of $1.25 billion, according to Reuters. Hidden Road was clearing $3 trillion annually across markets when the acquisition was announced, according to Ripple. Its client base at the time included more than 300 institutional clients. Ripple announced the completion of the acquisition and the renaming of Hidden Road as Ripple Prime on 24 October 2025. The company said when announcing the deal's completion that Ripple Prime's business had grown to 3 times its size since the acquisition was first announced.
In another expansion of its derivatives services, Ripple announced a Delta One business at Ripple Prime to execute total return swaps. The service covers U.S.-listed equities, indexes and digital assets, according to the business's launch statement. The company said in the same statement that Ripple Prime's net regulatory capital exceeds $1 billion. Ripple also announced an expansion of its relationship with Brevan Howard to provide multi-asset prime brokerage services to its funds. The expanded relationship includes clearing and financing services alongside brokerage, according to the company's announcement.
The real-world asset swap service is currently offered under Ripple Prime's CIB BVI license in the British Virgin Islands, according to the launch statement. The company intends to make the service available from additional jurisdictions in the near future. In a separate stablecoin services initiative, Ripple's partnership with DriveWealth allows clients to fund collateral accounts with stablecoins. Those currencies are converted into cash in near real time, according to the companies' partnership statement. Ripple and DriveWealth intend to discuss the collaboration during the Ripple Swell event on Wednesday, 28 October in New York.