Ripple announced on October 6 that its Ripple Prime unit will provide multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services to funds managed by Brevan Howard. The $35 billion alternative investment manager, which focuses on global macro and digital assets, will gain access to a single regulated platform that covers both traditional and digital markets. The agreement turns an existing equity relationship into an operating one.
The agreement gives Brevan Howard a single regulated platform for prime brokerage, clearing and financing across traditional and digital markets, rather than using separate counterparties for each.
What Services Ripple Prime Will Provide
Commenting on the partnership, Alan McGroarty, Group COO of Brevan Howard, stated that digital and traditional markets are becoming more interconnected, so institutional-quality digital asset infrastructure that enables a seamless experience is only growing. He added that “Ripple has built a differentiated platform that we expect will provide our investment teams with increased operational ease and capital efficiency.”
Brevan Howard Moves From $500 Million Investor to Operational Client
Funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment announced in November 2025. That round, led by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities with participation from Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Marshall Wace, valued Ripple at $40 billion. It followed a $1 billion tender offer at the same valuation and came after Ripple’s strongest year on record, including more than $95 billion in transaction volume on its network.
The October agreement turns an equity relationship into an operating one. Noel Kimmel, President of Ripple Prime, said “There are few firms equipped to provide the next generation of prime services that sophisticated investors expect, and Brevan Howard’s trust in Ripple Prime is recognition of our strong competitive position and cross-asset capabilities.” According to Kimmel, the expanded relationship between the two firms reflects a long-term commitment to shared success.
Ripple Prime’s Scale After the $1.25 Billion Hidden Road Acquisition
Ripple Prime is the rebranded platform that resulted from Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, announced in April 2025 and closed in October 2025. At the time of the deal, Hidden Road cleared roughly $3 trillion annually across markets for more than 300 institutional clients and offered services in FX, digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income. Since the announcement, the business has grown threefold, according to Ripple.
The unit holds more than $1 billion in regulatory net capital and received a BBB issuer rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) in April 2026, with a senior unsecured debt rating of BBB later that year. KBRA noted the firm is still scaling, with activity concentrated in exchange-traded derivatives clearing and short-duration Treasury financing, supported by capital injections from Ripple. The parent held nearly $5 billion in cash and more than 40 billion units of XRP as of the third quarter of 2025.
Ripple holds more than 60 licenses globally and provides payments, custody, prime brokerage, and treasury management.
How RLUSD and XRP Support Cross-Margining on Ripple Prime
Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD and digital asset XRP underpin capabilities on Ripple Prime. RLUSD, launched in late 2024, reached a market capitalization of approximately $2.37 billion at the time of writing, with monthly transfer volume above $16 billion on RWA.xyz data. It is already used as collateral on the platform, enabling cross-margining between digital assets and traditional markets, the first stablecoin to do so at scale, according to the original Hidden Road acquisition announcement.
XRP supports settlement speed and liquidity within the broader stack. The platform also expanded into Delta One products, including total return swaps on U.S.-listed equities, indices, and digital assets. Financial terms of the Brevan Howard agreement, the specific funds covered, and the start date were not disclosed.
Institutional Demand for Unified Prime Brokerage Services
State Street’s 2026 Digital Assets Study found that 51 percent of surveyed asset managers, owners, and wealth managers expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, up from 42 percent the prior year. Average allocations stand near 11 percent and are projected to reach 17 percent over three years.
Non-bank prime brokers are expanding as banks face tighter capital rules. Ripple Prime’s regulated status as an SEC-registered broker-dealer and CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, plus CME Group clearing membership, allows it to serve clients seeking capital efficiency across asset classes on one platform. Brevan Howard, with roughly 1,000 team members across 40 nationalities, continues to operate at the intersection of traditional macro strategies and digital assets.
The relationship shows a strategic investor in crypto infrastructure turning an equity stake into an operating mandate. How much of Brevan Howard’s book moves, and on what collateral and margin terms relative to bank prime brokers, will depend on implementation.
Author: Richardson Chinonyerem
The editorial team at #DisruptionBanking has taken all precautions to ensure that no persons or organisations have been adversely affected or offered any sort of financial advice in this article. This article is most definitely not financial advice.
See Also:
Ripple’s RLUSD Rise: Is This the End for XRP? | Disruption Banking
Ripple Acquires Prime Broker Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion | Disruption Banking
