Ripple以杠杆ETF融资为矛，挑战华尔街银行

Ripple Prime enters leveraged ETF financing business

Ripple officially enters the financing field of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through its institutional brokerage business unit Ripple Prime. The division mainly provides financial support for investment products designed to provide daily performance multiples of individual stocks or market indices.

Alternatives to traditional banking models

According to the Wall Street Journal reported on October 7, Ripple Prime is providing financing services for leveraged ETFs through stock swap arrangements traditionally handled by large banks and securities companies. The move marks a further expansion of Ripple in the institutional brokerage space.

Ripple is currently funding a leveraged ETF that tracks Sandisk shares. The fund, called Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF, aims to double the daily performance of SanDisk's share price. As a condition of financing, the fund will pay Ripple an interest rate fee based on the overnight bank financing benchmark rate plus four percentage points. This arrangement allows Ripple to earn financing fees from funds that use derivatives to gain leverage exposure to publicly traded companies.

XRP price response is flat, technical indicators are short

Although Ripple has made progress in business expansion, XRP prices have responded weakly. As of press time, XRP was trading at about $1.40, down more than 5% in the past 24 hours. Technical indicators were generally bearish, with seven sell signals and only five buy signals, indicating that despite new developments, the market continues to weaken.

The operating mechanism of leveraged ETFs and Ripple's role

Leveraging ETFs are usually designed to generate two to three times a daily return of the underlying asset or index. Fund managers can gain the exposure they need through derivatives without having to buy the same amount of stock. For example, a fund that targets twice Nvidia's daily performance could reach a total income swap agreement with a broker. Under the agreement, brokers provide exposure to stock returns, while funds pay financing costs and other agreed fees.

Brokers typically manage their own exposure by purchasing stocks or conducting other financial transactions. The ETF receives agreed returns based on the terms of the contract. Ripple Prime provides this type of financing services to such leveraged ETF operators. It is worth noting that leveraged ETFs reset their exposure on a daily basis, which means that their performance over a period of more than one day may differ from a simple multiple of the cumulative return of the underlying stock. Daily compound interest and market fluctuations will affect the return investors ultimately earn.

Ripple is on the financing end of such transactions. The company provides brokerage services and derivatives exposure to fund operators, while the ETF itself remains responsible for its investment strategy.

Hidden Road acquisition lays the foundation for brokerage business

Ripple officially entered the Prime Brokerage space by acquiring financial services company Hidden Road for US$1.25 billion. Hidden Road has previously handled trading, clearing and financing in multiple asset classes.

Ripple announced the acquisition on April 2025 and completed the transaction in October of the same year. Subsequently, it renamed Hidden Road to Ripple Prime. The transaction gives Ripple a mature institutional brokerage operating system covering areas such as digital assets, foreign exchange, derivatives and fixed income.

Hidden Road's core business is to provide clearing, financing and market access services to trading companies and institutional investors to access multiple markets through a single brokerage relationship. According to Ripple's previous disclosure, the annual liquidation activity of the acquired business is approximately US$3 trillion. In a follow-up report, the company noted that the business has grown approximately threefold in size since the acquisition was announced.

Since then, Ripple Prime has added services for institutions that trade both traditional securities and cryptocurrencies. In August 2026, the broker launched Delta One business, providing total income swaps linked to U.S. listed stocks, market indices and digital assets. The service allows institutional customers to gain economic exposure without directly holding underlying assets, and Ripple Prime handles swap arrangements, financing and related collateral requirements. This is the same type of derivative instruments used in leveraged ETF financing operations.

Financing to support U.S. operational expansion

Before entering the leveraged ETF financing market, Ripple Prime has received new capital to support its prime brokerage activities. In August, the company raised $275 million by selling senior unsecured notes to institutional investors. Ripple said the proceeds will be used to support working capital and general corporate purposes as its regulated U.S. brokerage business expands financing, clearing and trading services.

The KRA rated the notes with BBB investment grade, with Piper Sandler serving as the lead underwriting agent. The company did not disclose the maturity date, interest rate or participating investors of the notes. Previously, Ripple received $200 million in financing facilities in May from a fund managed by Neuberger Berman. Unlike senior notes, Neuberger Berman's financing structure is designed to provide lending capabilities based on the needs of institutional clients, supporting margin services covering digital assets, stocks, fixed income and foreign exchange. Together, these two arrangements provide Ripple Prime with up to $475 million in financing.

Deepening institutional client relationships

Ripple's latest foray into ETF financing comes as it reached another agreement with hedge fund manager Brevan Howard earlier this week. On October 6, Ripple expanded its partnership with Brevan Howard, who manages approximately $35 billion in assets and provides prime brokerage, clearing and financing services in traditional and digital markets.

The agreement allows Brevan Howard's investment team to access multiple asset classes through Ripple Prime's brokerage infrastructure. Alan McGroarty, chief operating officer of Brevan Howard Group, said the platform is expected to improve the company's transaction operations and capital efficiency.

The relationship between the two companies predates the latest brokerage agreement. In November 2025, Brevan Howard Related Fund participated in Ripple's US$500 million strategic investment round. Ripple was valued at $40 billion at the time, and investors included affiliates of Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, as well as Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital and Marshall Wace. [TAG

In addition, Ripple Prime has included its stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) in institutional services, allowing eligible customers to use the stablecoin as collateral. While Ripple has disclosed plans to move some of its post-trade activity to XRP Ledger, the currently reported leveraged ETF funding arrangement has not been confirmed as using RLUSD or XRP.

Ripple's U.S. regulatory operations were established prior to its completion of the Hidden Road acquisition. In April 2025, Hidden Road received a broker-dealer license from the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA), covering additional fixed income brokerage, clearing and financing services. The following month, the company launched an over-the-counter cash-settled cryptocurrency swap service for U.S. institutional investors through its British entity regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).