Ripple Prime just landed a big-name hedge fund client, and it shows how far Ripple has moved beyond crypto payments. The company said Tuesday that its prime brokerage arm will serve funds run by Brevan Howard, a global macro and digital assets manager.
It is the kind of deal that gets noticed on Wall Street, where prime brokerage has long belonged to the biggest banks.
What Ripple Prime Is Offering Brevan Howard
Per Ripple’s announcement on X, Ripple Prime will provide multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services to Brevan Howard funds. The pitch is simple: Brevan Howard gets access to traditional and digital markets on one platform, under a regulated framework.
Ripple describes the move as a deepening of an existing relationship. In fact, affiliates of Brevan Howard took part in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment in 2025, and this agreement builds on that tie.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Neither the fees nor the size of the mandate have surfaced in the reporting so far.
Ripple’s Wall Street Unit Goes Beyond Crypto
The Brevan Howard news landed alongside a Wall Street Journal feature on Ripple’s expansion into the business. According to PYMNTS’ summary of the WSJ report, Ripple Prime is positioning itself in the financing of leveraged ETFs. That is a lucrative niche that big banks have dominated. The unit reportedly works with several ETF providers and is widening its reach to hedge funds and other investment managers.
The business exists because of a 2025 shopping spree. Ripple bought the brokerage Hidden Road for about $1.25 billion. At the time, Ripple said Hidden Road cleared roughly $3 trillion a year and served more than 300 institutional customers. Ripple then announced digital-asset spot prime brokerage capabilities for the U.S. market that November.
The Wall Street plumbing keeps getting built out, too. Ripple Prime joined the DTCC’s NSCC participant directory in March 2026, and in May Ripple closed a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Specialty Finance to expand the business.
What Ripple Prime Means for XRP Holders
Here is the catch for XRP fans. The announcement does not say Brevan Howard will use XRP or Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin under the agreement. Commentary on Ripple’s prime brokerage arm has also noted that XRP plays only a limited direct role in the business, mostly as collateral.
Still, the market noticed. According to CoinGabbar, XRP slipped about 2.5% to around $1.46 around the announcement. The token is down roughly 50% over the past year, per 24/7 Wall St.
In other words, Ripple is winning on Wall Street while its best-known token waits for a payoff. Whether that gap closes is the open question.
What to Watch Next
Ripple still has to name its leveraged ETF clients and show how fast Ripple Prime can scale against bank rivals. The next catalyst arrives soon. Evernorth, an XRP treasury company backed by a Ripple board member, is expected to start trading on Nasdaq as XRPN on Oct. 8. After that, the Fed meets Oct. 28 and Dec. 9, and both dates could move crypto markets.
For now, Ripple has a marquee hedge fund on its client list. However, the harder test is proving that a payments company can hold its own in prime brokerage.
