Ripple进军华尔街，以机构服务挑战顶级银行

Ripple enters Wall Street to challenge top banks with institutional services

As a global leader in payment infrastructure, blockchain technology company Ripple has begun to compete directly with some of the most influential banks on Wall Street. This strategic shift was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article. The article pointed out that Ripple's business reach has extended to various segments of the cryptocurrency industry, including stablecoins and asset custody. The report highlights that the company is transforming from an entity focused on crypto an important player in traditional financial markets.

Entering the master broker business: A critical step

One of the key steps for Ripple's expansion is its acquisition of Prime Brokerage company Hidden Road in 2025. The $1.25 billion deal led to the re-branding of the business as "Ripple Prime." Today, Ripple Prime provides clearing, financing and prime broker services to institutional clients in traditional and digital asset markets.

Ripple Prime quickly acquired an important institutional client-well-known global hedge fund Brevan Howard. Noel Kimmel, president of Ripple Prime, said the partnership demonstrates the company's strong competitive position and the broad range of services it provides across a variety of assets.

In addition, the company has established a presence in the leveraged ETF (exchange-traded funds) space, which was previously dominated by large financial institutions. Ripple earns financing fees by acting as counterparty to swaps. According to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, some transactions have annualized returns of about 8%. Morningstar Direct data shows that the leveraged ETF sector includes 593 funds with a total asset management scale of more than US$256 billion.

Compared with non-bank financial institutions, companies such as Ripple differ in their risk frameworks from traditional banks. This provides it with a structural advantage in markets such as ETF financing, which Kimmel says is increasingly important to the company's growth.

Brief explanation of terms: A master broker is a service provided by financial institutions to institutions such as hedge funds, covering clearing, lending, and providing leveraged access for diversified trading activities.

Impact on XRP and the cryptocurrency industry

As the price of Ripple's native cryptocurrency XRP traded close to $1.42, the Wall Street Journal report attracted widespread attention. Ripple Prime leverages corporate infrastructure based on XRP, which means that as Ripple deepens its institutional connections, demand for XRP may increase accordingly.

As Ripple's reputation as an institutional financial operator strengthens, XRP's evaluation in the investment community is also changing. The Wall Street Journal's narrative of positioning Ripple as a challenger to major banks, rather than just a cryptography-enabled payment provider, is seen as an important turning point in the rising reputation of the Ripple ecosystem and its tokens among institutional players.

Ripple's entry into leveraged ETF financing, coupled with established partnerships such as Brevan Howard, demonstrates how the company has quickly positioned itself as a true competitor to Wall Street banks in both digital and traditional assets.

Growing recognition and industry status

WSJ Markets shared the news on its official X account, saying Ripple is a company that is now actively entering the traditional financial sector. For Ripple, which has faced regulatory review and uncertainty in recent years, this level of recognition marks a significant change in industry perception.

Ripple was founded in 2012 and has been committed to using blockchain technology to modernize payment processes and provide financial institutions with tools and services to simplify and optimize cross-border transactions. Recent recognition from the mainstream financial media marks its transformation into a mature institutional partner.

将 Ripple 描述为在华尔街的核心景观中运营，而非处于边缘地带，反映了领先金融圈对其雄心和能力看法的转变。