Ripple Prime, the prime brokerage arm of blockchain firm Ripple, has launched real-world asset (RWA) perpetual swaps, giving institutional clients continuous exposure to more than 100 markets tied to traditional financial assets. The offering spans equities, stock indexes, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), metals, energy, and foreign exchange, with trading and settlement available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Institutional trading firm Virtu is among the clients using the new service. The launch allows eligible institutions to manage exposure to traditional asset classes outside conventional exchange hours while accessing multiple markets through a single prime brokerage relationship.

The service currently operates under Ripple Prime's licensing arrangements in the British Virgin Islands, with the company planning to expand into additional jurisdictions. The rollout reflects growing interest in blockchain-based infrastructure that enables financial institutions to trade and manage risk across markets running on different schedules.

How Ripple Prime Structures RWA Perpetual Swaps

Ripple Prime acts as the principal counterparty for the swaps, which reference perpetual futures contracts listed by Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives trading platform. The structure gives institutional clients exposure to traditional asset markets through contracts supported by digital asset infrastructure. Perpetual futures, a contract format popularized in cryptocurrency derivatives markets, carry no fixed expiry date, allowing positions to remain open indefinitely rather than settling at scheduled intervals.

Unlike conventional stock and commodity exchanges, which generally operate within specified trading sessions, the referenced markets remain accessible throughout the week, including weekends. Institutions can therefore adjust positions in response to developments that occur while traditional exchanges are closed.

Ripple said the development illustrates how blockchain-based trading infrastructure can extend market access beyond established trading windows, potentially helping institutions deploy capital and respond to market movements across traditional and digital asset markets without waiting for conventional exchanges to reopen.

The offering also supports cross-margining, allowing clients to offset or manage margin requirements across RWA swap positions and other asset classes supported by Ripple Prime. Clients can use Ripple USD (RLUSD), the company's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, as collateral.

By combining cross-margining with RLUSD collateral and centralized risk management, Ripple Prime aims to simplify portfolio management and reduce the operational complexity of maintaining positions across multiple asset classes. The arrangement also gives clients a single counterparty relationship rather than requiring them to access the underlying decentralized derivatives venue directly.

Michael Higgins, international chief executive of Ripple Prime, said the launch responds to institutional demand for exposure to equities, commodities, and currencies through infrastructure that operates continuously. He highlighted the company's experience in trade clearing, digital collateral management, and risk oversight across trading venues as a foundation for supporting more complex institutional strategies.

Virtu Highlights Demand for Continuous Markets

Institutional trading firms are increasingly exploring liquidity sources beyond traditional exchanges as digital infrastructure broadens access to financial markets. Scotte Moegling, head of digital asset business development at Virtu, said the firm was expanding its participation in emerging liquidity pools. He indicated that Ripple Prime's cross-margining capabilities across asset classes could improve capital efficiency as markets increasingly move toward continuous trading.

Ripple also reported significant growth in trading volumes for perpetual futures contracts linked to real-world assets since the beginning of the year, though the company did not provide specific volume figures in the announcement.

The expansion of these products could give institutions additional flexibility to manage exposure when economic announcements, geopolitical developments, or other market-moving events occur outside regular trading hours. Perpetual swaps also carry risks, however, including leverage-related losses, liquidity constraints, and differences between contract prices and underlying market values.

Ripple Expands Its Institutional Trading Services

Founded in 2012, Ripple offers payments, custody, prime brokerage, and treasury management services. Its digital asset ecosystem includes RLUSD and XRP, which serve different functions within the company's broader business. In traditional finance, prime brokerage refers to the bundled financing, execution, clearing, and custody services institutions rely on to trade across multiple venues, a model Ripple Prime applies to digital asset markets.

Through the new offering, Ripple Prime provides institutional clients with access to contracts referencing markets listed on a decentralized venue while maintaining Ripple Prime as their principal counterparty.

The launch strengthens Ripple Prime's position at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain-based derivatives, although broader adoption will depend on regulatory access, market liquidity, and institutional risk requirements. The planned geographic expansion could widen access to the service, subject to applicable licensing and regulatory conditions. How regulators in additional jurisdictions treat the offering, and whether more institutional trading firms follow Virtu in adopting it, will serve as indicators of how far the 24/7 RWA derivatives model extends beyond its current footprint.

For institutions seeking continuous market access, the product offers another route to trading traditional asset exposures through digital financial infrastructure.

Source: CoinTrust