Ripple has expanded its institutional partnership with Brevan Howard, one of the world's largest hedge funds, announcing that its Ripple Prime unit will now provide multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services to Brevan Howard funds. The company disclosed the expanded mandate on October 6, 2026.

In a post on X, Ripple said:

"Ripple Prime will now provide multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services to Brevan Howard, expanding our relationship with one of the world's leading alternative investment managers. Read the full announcement to see how Ripple Prime is bringing traditional and…"

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 6, 2026, via X

The full announcement outlines how Ripple Prime is bringing traditional and digital asset services together for institutional clients.

What Ripple Prime Is

Ripple Prime is the trading and brokerage arm Ripple built after acquiring institutional prime broker Hidden Road. The unit serves banks, hedge funds, and other large investors who trade across both traditional and digital markets. According to Ripple, the platform is designed to bring traditional and digital asset services under one roof for large institutional traders. Prime brokerage refers to the bundle of services—clearing and financing among them—that large funds rely on to run positions across markets.

How the Partnership Has Grown

The relationship is not new. Brevan Howard's affiliates invested in Ripple last year as part of a $500 million funding round that valued the company at $40 billion. Ripple's valuation later climbed to $50 billion after the company completed a $750 million buyback program earlier this year. Brevan Howard currently oversees roughly $35 billion in client assets, according to the announcement.

Alan McGroarty, Group COO of Brevan Howard, said the firm sees growing demand for infrastructure that connects digital and traditional markets. He said Ripple's platform should give the fund's investment teams greater operational ease and capital efficiency.

Ripple described the deal as a response to demand from large investment managers seeking prime brokerage services that cover both crypto and traditional assets. The company said its platform operates within a regulated framework built for enterprise clients.

Under the expanded agreement, Brevan Howard will gain access to Ripple Prime's full platform, including crypto assets such as XRP and Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD.

Ripple Prime's Recent Growth

Ripple Prime has been adding new capabilities throughout the year. In August, the unit launched stock trading through its Delta One desk, which allows clients to trade total return swaps tied to U.S. equities. The service targets hedge funds, market makers, and exchange-traded fund issuers.

Earlier this year, credit rating agency KBRA assigned Ripple Prime a BBB rating, noting that the business is still scaling and working to add more products, including equity prime brokerage and swaps.

Ripple Prime also secured a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Berman, which the company said will support the expansion of institutional margin lending.

More recently, Ripple Prime connected to Hyperliquid, a decentralized finance trading venue, marking the platform's first direct integration with a DeFi exchange. For Brevan Howard, those additions flesh out the full platform the expanded agreement opens up, adding equ-linked derivatives, expanded institutional margin lending capacity, and a direct connection into decentralized finance.

Investor Turned Client

The expanded partnership reflects Ripple's push to serve institutional clients who want a single platform for both digital and traditional assets, a build-out that has been underway since the Hidden Road acquisition.

Brevan Howard's continued involvement with Ripple, first as an investor and now as a prime brokerage client, underscores the hedge fund's interest in digital asset infrastructure. The fund first backed Ripple during last year's funding round and has expanded that relationship in the period since.

Ripple has not announced a timeline for when the expanded services will be fully operational for Brevan Howard. The company said the rollout builds on the existing relationship between the two firms. With KBRA noting that equity prime brokerage and swaps remain in development, the platform's remaining product roadmap offers a clear list of developments to watch as the expanded mandate rolls out.

Source: CoinCentral