Ripple Prime opens 24/7 RWA swaps to institutions, with Virtu already trading

Virtu is already trading real-world asset perpetual swaps through Ripple Prime, which opened the product to institutions on Thursday.

Over 100 markets are linked to the swaps, which keep trading even after the exchanges behind them close for the weekend.

Prices track Trade.xyz perpetual futures listed on Hyperliquid

Clients can take positions tied to equities, equity indices, ETFs, metals, energy and foreign exchange. Trading and settlement are 24/7.

On Friday a stock exchange closes and reopens on Monday but swaps relating to its shares carry on trading on Saturday and Sunday.

In its announcement Ripple said Ripple Prime is principal on every trade. The swap values are based on the perpetual futures that Trade.xyz lists on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives venue.

Institutions obtain Hyperliquid liquidity through their Ripple Prime account. They never connect to the venue directly.

Clients can post RLUSD as collateral and cross-margin positions

“Virtu is ramping up across emerging liquidity pools, and Ripple Prime’s 24/7 cross-margining across asset classes helps us expand our presence more efficiently as markets move toward round-the-clock access.”

Scotte Moegling, head of business development for digital assets at Virtu, said in the release. US market maker Virtu is among the clients already trading the swaps.

Ripple Prime clients can cross-margin swap positions against other asset classes supported by Ripple Prime. Offsetting positions trim the amount of collateral that has to be posted by a firm.

Ripple USD (RLUSD) is the company’s dollar stablecoin and also serves as collateral. Availability varies by jurisdiction.

Ripple says the arrangement furnishes clients with a single counterparty, centralized risk management and consolidated margin across a portfolio. Currently, the product is licensed to run only under Ripple Prime’s CIV BVI license with other regions in the pipeline but no timeline.

International CEO of Ripple Prime Michael Higgins said that institutions are seeking 24/7 access to equities, commodities and currencies. Ripple said volumes in perpetual futures linked to real-world assets have exploded this year but gave no figures.

Ripple Prime sprang from Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road, which closed in October 2025. The unit provides clearing, financing and trading of currencies, bonds, derivatives and digital assets from one institutional account.

It added support for Hyperliquid in February. Institutional clients would then be able to margin positions on the decentralized venue against other holdings.

Hyperliquid is permissionless and has no KYC checks.

Neuberger Specialty Finance extended Ripple Prime a $200 million debt line in May 2026, earmarked for margin loans. The unit has reportedly tripled revenue year over year since its US debut.

Ripple also co-invested last week with Circle and SC Ventures in a $25 billion valuation funding round for OKX. In the same week, Brevan Howard, which backed Ripple’s $500 million raise in November 2025, signed on as a Ripple client.

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