Ripple is expanding institutional access to around-the-clock trading linked to stocks, commodities and currencies, allowing clients to take positions even when conventional markets are closed. The move brings Wall Street-related exposure further into crypto-market infrastructure, but HSBC cautions that limited liquidity could restrict large trades and leave the service initially dominated by specialist trading firms.
Ripple Prime expands its market access
Ripple Prime, the brokerage previously known as Hidden Road, now allows institutional clients to trade swaps linked to more than 100 markets. The offering includes shares, commodities and currencies, and uses Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral.
A swap is a contract whose value is tied to the price movement of an underlying asset. It allows a client to gain exposure to that movement without directly purchasing the stock, commodity or currency itself. In this case, the contracts track perpetual futures listed by Trade.xyz, a platform for stock and commodity contracts on the Hyperliquid crypto derivatives exchange.
Unlike conventional futures, perpetual contracts do not have an expiry date. Because they trade continuously, they can give funds a way to take positions at times when regular exchanges are shut, including weekends. Ripple said trading firm Virtu is already using the service.
Ripple Prime handles clients’ collateral and risk across their positions. Its use of RLUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, is intended to make the digital-asset collateral part of the trading process. Ripple connected its brokerage to Hyperliquid in February, according to the source material.
HSBC sees an early market dominated by specialists
The launch does not automatically mean that large institutions will be able to move substantial sums in and out of these markets easily. Every buyer seeking to trade millions of dollars needs a seller or another counterparty prepared to take the opposite side at a price the buyer considers acceptable.
Daragh Maher, HSBC’s head of digital assets research, described the development as “evolutionary, not revolutionary” in a note to clients, according to CoinDesk. He said the market was growing but remained small compared with the traditional financial markets whose prices the contracts follow.
HSBC’s assessment is that the product will become more useful when trading depth is sufficient for investors to express views and manage risk while conventional markets are closed. Until then, activity may be concentrated among market makers, proprietary trading firms and hedge funds pursuing basis trades.
Basis trades seek to benefit from price differences between related instruments, such as a derivative and the asset it tracks. This is different from a fund using the contracts primarily as a long-term strategic hedge. The bank said Ripple’s prospects would depend partly on whether its service is cheaper and simpler than existing brokers and trading venues, while also allowing clients to use their collateral more efficiently.
Weekend liquidation highlights the risks
The concerns about market depth and price formation were illustrated by a recent episode involving chip-stock contracts. Nearly $52 million in leveraged positions were forcibly liquidated within 10 minutes as selling moved from Binance to Hyperliquid.
The underlying shares were not trading at the time. That meant the contracts lacked fresh prices from the regular stock market to guide them, highlighting how rapidly leveraged positions can unwind when around-the-clock derivatives continue trading while the underlying assets are closed.
The episode does not establish how Ripple’s specific service would perform in similar conditions, but it shows the broader challenge facing products that extend stock-linked trading into nights and weekends. Continuous access can create more opportunities to adjust positions, while thin activity can also make price movements and liquidations more abrupt.
Ripple is already earning fees from financing leveraged stock bets, a business traditionally dominated by banks. The new swaps are being offered through Ripple Prime’s British Virgin Islands license, with additional jurisdictions planned. Ripple has identified an early customer but has not disclosed how much the service has traded.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 08:29 on Oct. 21, 2026, showed XRP at $1.3444773781, up 3.64% over 24 hours but down 2.38% over seven days. RLUSD was priced at $0.9999886758 at 08:28, with a 0.01% gain over both 24 hours and seven days.
The same Moneyiar data showed Walrus (WAL) at $0.0392646982, up 2.11% in 24 hours and down 17.1% over seven days. Propy (PRO) stood at $0.3464784797, down 0.42% over 24 hours and 8.28% over seven days. Prices are quoted in U.S. dollars.
