HedgeCo.Net — Brevan Howard, the global macro and digital-asset manager overseeing about $35 billion, has expanded its relationship with Ripple, which said on Tuesday that its Ripple Prime unit will provide multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing and financing services to Brevan Howard funds. The firms did not disclose financial terms, which funds are covered or when the services begin.
Ripple Prime is the multi-asset prime broker Ripple formed after acquiring institutional prime broker Hidden Road. Under the expanded agreement, Brevan Howard gains access to prime services spanning asset classes and products on a single platform that Ripple says is designed to improve capital efficiency and operational simplicity across traditional and digital markets.
“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,” said Alan McGroarty, Brevan Howard’s group chief operating officer. Noel Kimmel, president of Ripple Prime, called the mandate recognition of the platform’s cross-asset capabilities. The arrangement builds on an existing tie: funds managed by Brevan Howard affiliates participated in Ripple’s $500 million strategic investment in 2025.
Ripple Prime is still building out its balance sheet and product set. The Block noted that KBRA rated the business BBB earlier this year while observing that it is still scaling and looking to diversify into equity prime brokerage and swaps, and that the firm later secured a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Berman to expand institutional margin lending. Ripple has also added Hyperliquid as the platform’s first direct integration with a decentralized trading venue.
For the hedge fund industry, the mandate is a notable test of whether crypto-native infrastructure providers can win multi-asset business from established managers, not just digital-asset specialists. Large multi-strategy and macro funds typically spread financing across several bank primes to manage counterparty risk, so the key questions for investors will be how much of Brevan Howard’s book migrates, what collateral and margin terms Ripple Prime can offer relative to bank competitors, and how the relationship is governed given Brevan Howard’s equity exposure to Ripple.