Ripple Prime Adds Hyperliquid Support to Expand Institutional Access to DeFi Derivatives
Ripple has announced that Ripple Prime, its institutional prime brokerage platform, has enabled support for Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives protocol, in a move aimed at expanding institutional access to onchain liquidity within a unified prime brokerage framework.
The integration will allow Ripple Prime clients to access Hyperliquid’s decentralized derivatives liquidity while cross-margining DeFi exposures alongside traditional and digital asset classes already supported on the platform. Ripple said these include digital assets, FX, fixed income, OTC swaps, and cleared derivatives.
The announcement reflects accelerating institutional demand for capital-efficient access to decentralized markets, particularly as DeFi derivatives venues grow in liquidity and trading sophistication while institutions continue to seek centralized risk controls and consolidated counterparty relationships.
Hyperliquid integration brings onchain derivatives liquidity into Ripple Prime
Ripple said the addition of Hyperliquid extends Ripple Prime’s multi-asset prime brokerage offering into decentralized derivatives markets. The company positioned the move as part of its broader mission to connect traditional finance infrastructure with decentralized liquidity venues.
Under the integration, institutional clients will be able to access Hyperliquid directly while maintaining a single prime brokerage relationship through Ripple Prime. Ripple said this structure provides centralized risk management and consolidated margining across the client’s portfolio.
The ability to cross-margin DeFi exposures with other asset classes is a key differentiator, as institutions often face fragmented collateral requirements when trading across centralized and decentralized venues. Ripple Prime’s model aims to reduce capital inefficiency by allowing clients to manage margin holistically rather than allocating separate collateral pools to each trading venue.
The integration also reflects a broader market shift, where DeFi derivatives protocols are increasingly being treated as liquidity venues rather than experimental products, particularly as their execution speed and depth improve.
Takeaway
Ripple Prime positions move as part of broader TradFi-DeFi convergence
Ripple said the Hyperliquid support reinforces Ripple Prime’s mission of enabling institutional participation in decentralized markets without sacrificing the centralized controls expected in prime brokerage.
By integrating a decentralized derivatives venue into a multi-asset prime brokerage environment, Ripple is effectively treating DeFi exposure as another tradable instrument class that can be managed through institutional workflows, rather than requiring clients to operate independently onchain.
This model may appeal to hedge funds and proprietary trading firms seeking access to onchain liquidity and yield opportunities, but which still require consolidated reporting, counterparty management, and centralized risk oversight.
Ripple also framed the expansion as part of a broader strategy to support both centralized and decentralized liquidity venues, suggesting the company intends to act as an aggregator and access layer for institutional trading across market structures.
Michael Higgins, International CEO of Ripple Prime, said the integration is intended to enhance liquidity access and expand DeFi trading support for institutional clients.
“At Ripple Prime, we are excited to continue leading the way in merging decentralized finance with traditional prime brokerage services, offering direct support to trading, yield generation and a wider range of digital assets. This strategic extension of our prime brokerage platform into DeFi will enhance our clients’ access to liquidity, providing the greater efficiency and innovation that our institutional clients demand,” Higgins said.
Takeaway
Single counterparty model targets institutional risk and operational requirements
Ripple said clients will benefit from a single counterparty relationship, centralized risk management, and consolidated margin across their entire portfolio. These features address two persistent institutional barriers to DeFi adoption: operational fragmentation and risk oversight.
In traditional prime brokerage, institutions rely on consolidated reporting, unified collateral treatment, and centralized credit exposure management. DeFi venues, while offering transparency and direct settlement, typically require separate onchain collateral and independent risk processes.
Ripple Prime’s positioning suggests it is aiming to make DeFi derivatives accessible through an institutional wrapper, enabling firms to treat Hyperliquid liquidity similarly to traditional derivatives venues, while still participating in decentralized market structure.
This approach also reflects a growing competitive theme in institutional crypto services: prime brokers and infrastructure providers are increasingly racing to provide seamless access to both centralized exchanges and DeFi protocols, with margin efficiency becoming a key battleground.
Takeaway
Ripple expands its role in custody, liquidity, and institutional trading infrastructure
Ripple said it provides blockchain-based enterprise solutions spanning global payments, custody, liquidity, and treasury management. The company positioned itself as a “one-stop shop” for moving, storing, exchanging, and managing value across traditional and digital finance.
The Hyperliquid integration strengthens Ripple’s institutional narrative at a time when firms are increasingly seeking regulated, scalable access to crypto markets without managing fragmented infrastructure across multiple venues.
Ripple also highlighted its stablecoin RLUSD and XRP as core components underpinning its broader ecosystem. While the Hyperliquid announcement is centered on prime brokerage functionality, the move also aligns with Ripple’s long-term strategy of embedding itself deeper into institutional market plumbing.
As decentralized derivatives venues grow in importance, institutional platforms that can offer DeFi liquidity alongside traditional asset exposure may be well positioned to capture trading flows that increasingly span both onchain and offchain environments.
