Ripple announced on Oct. 6 that Brevan Howard funds will use its prime brokerage platform across traditional and digital markets. The agreement extends a relationship that began with Brevan Howard’s participation in Ripple’s $500 million investment round. Under the deal, the fund manager receives services across several asset classes and products through a unified platform. Group Chief Operating Officer Alan McGroarty said the growing connection between digital and traditional markets has increased the need for institutional-quality digital asset infrastructure. “Ripple has built a differentiated platform that we expect will provide our investment teams with increased operational ease and capital efficiency,” McGroarty said. The expanded arrangement includes brokerage, clearing and financing capabilities. Ripple Prime launched U.S. equity swaps in August after raising $275 million through senior notes. The financing, which attracted institutional investors, supports working capital and general corporate purposes within a regulated entity as the brokerage expands its U.S. business. Ripple Prime held more than $1 billion in regulatory net capital at the time of the announcement. The platform’s origins trace to Ripple’s $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road, completed in October 2025 after the transaction was announced in April. Hidden Road already provided institutional brokerage, clearing and financing across traditional and digital assets. Ripple also introduced over-the-counter, cash-settled crypto swaps for U.S. institutional investors through its U.K. entity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The August financing report noted that KBRA assigned the unsecured notes a BBB investment-grade rating. Ripple Prime’s Delta One offering provides total return swaps linked to U.S.-listed equities, indexes and digital assets. The product serves hedge funds, asset managers and other financial institutions, allowing them to maintain one counterparty relationship and cross-margin supported positions across asset classes around the clock. According to Ripple’s announcement, funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in its $500 million strategic investment in 2025. Ripple raised $500 million on Nov. 5, 2025, at a $40 billion valuation. The funding announcement named Fortress Investment Group affiliates, Citadel Securities affiliates, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace among the investors. Ripple described the funding as new common equity and said it chose to accept the investment because of the value of closer relationships with financial partners. The transaction followed a separate $1 billion tender offer at the same valuation. Ripple had repurchased more than a quarter of its outstanding shares in recent years, providing liquidity to employees and early investors. The company also reported completing six acquisitions in just over two years, including two transactions valued above $1 billion each. A July 1 report examining Ripple’s valuation put the company’s valuation near $50 billion following a $750 million share buyback earlier in 2026. The report described the transaction as a company share repurchase. RLUSD was identified as an accepted collateral asset within Ripple Prime. Ripple had also disclosed plans to move some post-trade activity onto the XRP Ledger, according to the coverage.