Key Highlights:
- Global alternative investment manager Brevan Howard has partnered with Ripple to utilize its institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure.
- The move expands an existing relationship that began after funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment round in 2025.
- The agreement leverages Ripple Prime, the multi-asset prime broker built from Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road.
Alternative investment management giant Brevan Howard has deepened its ongoing collaboration with enterprise blockchain firm Ripple, aiming to harness the company’s trading infrastructure to optimize operational workflows and capital management across its institutional funds.
Commenting on the expanding integration between traditional finance and modern digital systems, Alan McGroarty, Group COO of Brevan Howard, emphasized the rationale behind selecting the infrastructure provider:
“As digital and traditional markets become more interconnected, the need for institutional-quality digital asset infrastructure that enables a seamless experience for investors is only growing. Ripple has built a differentiated platform that we expect will provide our investment teams with increased operational ease and capital efficiency,” said Alan McGroarty, Group COO of Brevan Howard.
From Strategic Capital to Operational Integration
The alliance between Brevan Howard and Ripple traces back to the period following the resolution of Ripple’s high-profile legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During that pivotal period, investment funds managed by affiliates of Brevan Howard took part in a $500 million strategic investment round in Ripple in 2025. The latest development advances this strategic financial tie into an operational client relationship, reflecting deeper commercial alignment rather than a conventional vendor onboarding arrangement.
Ripple Prime and the Expansion Beyond Crypto
The institutional engagement is closely tied to Ripple’s aggressive expansion into prime brokerage services designed to capture mainstream Wall Street flows. Ripple Prime recently debuted a dedicated Delta One institutional trading platform that facilitates the execution of Total Return Swaps across digital assets, U.S.-listed equities, and broader indices for asset managers and hedge funds. Through this framework, institutional clients can cross-margin diverse market exposures across multiple asset classes while dealing with a single counterparty relationship.
The foundation of this service traces to Ripple’s landmark $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, which was rebranded as Ripple Prime. The acquisition marked Ripple as the first crypto firm to own and operate a fully global multi-asset prime broker. Prior to and through its integration, the prime brokerage unit has cleared over $3 trillion annually, catering to a client base of more than 300 institutional counterparties.
Why This Matters
The formal operational tie-up with Brevan Howard underscores a deliberate shift in Ripple’s business model from native crypto payment settlement toward integrated, cross-asset prime services for Tier-1 institutions. By enabling hedge funds to manage traditional equities, indices, and digital tokens under unified margin architectures, Ripple is positioning its infrastructure at the convergence of conventional capital markets and the digital asset economy, steadily anchoring its footprint on Wall Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the history between Brevan Howard and Ripple?
The relationship between both entities deepened following the conclusion of Ripple’s legal dispute with the SEC, during which investment funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment round in 2025.
What infrastructure services does Ripple Prime provide to institutional clients?
Ripple Prime operates a multi-asset platform featuring a Delta One institutional trading service. This setup allows hedge funds and asset managers to trade Total Return Swaps across U.S.-listed equities, indices, and digital assets, while enabling cross-margining across different asset classes via a unified counterparty.
How did Ripple become an institutional prime broker?
Ripple entered the global prime brokerage market by acquiring Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, subsequently rebranding the business as Ripple Prime. The institutional brokerage platform clears over $3 trillion annually and serves more than 300 institutional clients.
