Brevan Howard taps Ripple Prime for multi-asset settlement services

• Brevan Howard, managing $35 billion in assets, will access Ripple Prime’s multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services under an expanded agreement announced October 6.
• Ripple Prime reportedly cleared over $3 trillion annually before the expansion and serves more than 300 institutional clients globally across equities, indices and digital assets.
• The partnership deepens after Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic funding round in 2025, establishing ongoing confidence in the platform’s growth.

• $35B Assets under management by Brevan Howard, a major Wall Street alternative investment manager.
• $1.25B Price Ripple paid to acquire Hidden Road, the prime brokerage platform now rebranded as Ripple Prime.
• $3T Annual clearing volume through Ripple Prime before the Brevan Howard expansion agreement.

Ripple and Brevan Howard announced Tuesday (October 6) that the global alternative investment manager will now access Ripple Prime’s multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services, marking the latest institutional validation for the crypto firm’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road. Ripple Prime is the only cryptocurrency platform to operate a regulated, global multi-asset prime broker, infrastructure that lets hedge funds and asset managers execute trades across US equities, indices and digital assets through a single counterparty, cross-margining exposures across all three classes. Brevan Howard, which manages approximately $35 billion for institutional clients including sovereign wealth funds and pension plans, will gain access to this unified settlement layer.

The partnership reflects growing institutional demand for prime brokerage that spans traditional and digital markets without operational friction.

Brevan Howard’s $500 Million Vote of Confidence Deepens Into Prime Services Deal

The two firms have maintained a relationship since Ripple’s 2023 settlement with the SEC over XRP’s regulatory status. Funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment round in 2025, a significant signal of institutional confidence in Ripple’s platform and growth strategy.

The new prime brokerage agreement builds directly on that foundation, moving Brevan Howard from passive investor to active user of Ripple’s core infrastructure.

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.

Alan McGroarty, Group Chief Operating Officer, Brevan Howard

Noel Kimmel, President of Ripple Prime, framed the expansion as validation of the firm’s competitive position. “There are few firms equipped to provide the next generation of prime services that sophisticated investors expect, and Brevan Howard’s trust in Ripple Prime is recognition of our strong competitive position and cross-asset capabilities,” he said in the announcement.

Unified Settlement for Equities and Digital Assets Reshapes Prime Brokerage Competition

Ripple Prime’s core innovation, cross-margining equities, indices and crypto through a single prime broker relationship, addresses a long-standing operational fragmentation in global finance.

Traditionally, asset managers maintain separate prime broker relationships for equities and derivatives, then execute digital asset trades through cryptocurrency venues with no capital efficiency bridge between them. Ripple Prime eliminates that friction by offering clearing and financing across all three asset classes under one counterparty agreement and regulatory framework.

The platform reportedly cleared more than $3 trillion annually before the Brevan Howard expansion and already serves over 300 institutional clients. By integrating Brevan Howard, a $35 billion manager with exposure to both traditional macro strategies and digital asset bets, Ripple gains a heavyweight validator of its cross-asset thesis.

The question of whether this model can scale to compete with traditional prime brokers like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citadel Securities remains open; those firms do not currently offer native digital asset settlement, creating Ripple Prime’s unique position but also limiting its addressable market to institutions willing to adopt a crypto-native platform.

The CCS read. Institutional adoption of Ripple Prime’s cross-asset settlement reduces friction costs for managers already deploying capital across equities and crypto, but the model’s growth depends on whether traditional prime brokers build competing digital asset infrastructure or whether regulators impose custody or capital rules that favor centralized venues over Ripple’s distributed model.

Ripple has not disclosed whether other major asset managers will adopt Ripple Prime’s multi-asset services under similar expanded agreements, nor has it published audited financial or settlement volume data for 2024 or 2025, metrics that would help institutional investors assess the platform’s operational depth against traditional prime brokers.

Original reporting: cryptopotato.com