Ripple Prime, the institutional prime brokerage arm of Ripple, has significantly expanded its integration with the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid. The update, announced on March 31, 2026, by Ripple Prime's Director of Business Development Mike Higgins, now includes support for Hyperliquid's HIP-3 protocol symbols. This integration unlocks access for institutional clients to on-chain perpetual contracts tied to traditional commodities like gold, silver, and crude oil.
The move allows institutions to manage decentralized derivatives positions for these legacy assets alongside traditional holdings like foreign exchange, fixed income, and over-the-counter swaps within a single, cross-margined portfolio through Ripple Prime. This setup is designed to eliminate the operational complexities of managing separate Web3 wallets and fragmented collateral, providing a streamlined counterparty relationship.
Ripple Prime initially partnered with Hyperliquid in February 2026, becoming the sole counterparty for its clients to access the DEX's deep on-chain crypto liquidity. The HIP-3 expansion marks a strategic evolution, positioning Ripple Prime as a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Hyperliquid has established itself as the leading decentralized perpetual contract trading platform, boasting over $5 billion in open interest and regularly exceeding $200 billion in monthly trading volume. The HIP-3 protocol, specifically for perpetuals on traditional assets, has already seen significant traction, with its open interest hitting a record $1.43 billion and generating over $93 billion in total trading volume across more than 130,000 traders.
This integration is a key part of Ripple's broader institutional DeFi strategy, which also includes the RLUSD stablecoin and XRP Ledger DeFi integrations. By providing regulated-adjacent access to on-chain derivatives for traditional instruments, Ripple Prime is carving out a unique niche. No other institutional prime broker has publicly announced an integration with a decentralized perpetuals exchange at this scale, setting it apart from competitors like dYdX and GMX.
The development comes after Ripple's massive $1.25 billion acquisition of prime brokerage firm Hidden Road in late 2025, which led to the official launch of Ripple Prime. While the integration represents a major milestone in blending TradFi and DeFi, it may attract regulatory scrutiny from bodies like the CFTC, given it involves tokenized derivatives of traditional commodities.
