Ripple Is Plugging Wall Street Into Hyperliquid’s Markets. Better Buy: HYPE or XRP?

Ripple has seamlessly linked Wall Street trading desks with Hyperliquid-based markets, raising the question: which cryptocurrency will benefit more, HYPE or XRP? On October 15, 2026, Ripple Prime launched swap offerings for institutional clients, covering 100+ perpetual markets for traditional assets, including stocks and commodities. Trade.xyz powers these markets on the Hyperliquid exchange.

Ripple developed Ripple Prime by acquiring the prime broker Hidden Road in 2025. A prime broker is an institution that hedge funds or trading desks use to manage positions, borrow capital, and handle collateral in a single account. With Ripple Prime, each client has a contract directly with Ripple and does not trade on Hyperliquid itself.

Currently, Ripple Prime executes swaps through a British Virgin Islands-licensed business, with electronic market maker Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) already participating in trades. Interestingly, open interest — the total value of outstanding contracts — in traditional-asset perpetual markets has surged from nearly zero to about $9 billion over the past year.

Despite these developments, both XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and HYPE (CRYPTO: HYPE) saw modest price moves on launch day: XRP rose 1.1%, while Hyperliquid rose 0.8% over 24 hours.

Ripple Prime’s Swaps Run on Hyperliquid Markets Without XRP

A swap is a private agreement where two parties exchange payments based on the gains or losses of a referenced price. In this case, the reference is a perpetual future, a futures contract without an expiration date. The markets on Trade.xyz operate around the clock, allowing clients to adjust their positions on stocks or commodities even during off-hours or weekends.

Michael Higgins, Ripple Prime’s international CEO, explained that some clients use a perpetual position alongside the underlying asset to capitalize on price discrepancies, while others adopt a directional strategy, especially when trading outside standard hours. Higgins’ comments reflect potential strategies rather than client demand figures.

The true selling point of these swaps lies in the collateral. Ripple’s cross-margining lets profits or collateral from one position support the margin needed for another, allowing firms to use less cash across exchanges. Clients can cross-margin their new swaps against existing positions in their Ripple Prime accounts and use Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD), Ripple’s stablecoin, as collateral when applicable.

However, Ripple names RLUSD as collateral but doesn’t mention XRP or clarify which asset the swaps settle in. This means clients can manage their positions without buying, holding, or transferring XRP.

Hyperliquid’s Buybacks Tie HYPE to Trading Volume

Trade.xyz shares its market fees with Hyperliquid, which mainly uses the revenue to buy back and burn HYPE tokens, according to trading technology firm Talos. Buybacks involve a project purchasing its own token from the market, which can help drive up the token’s value.

Ripple’s clients have an indirect relationship with these buybacks. Client orders hit Ripple’s book first and reach Hyperliquid only if Ripple Prime hedges its exposure on Trade.xyz’s markets, and there’s no commitment from Ripple to hedge its exposure there. Additionally, Virtu, one of Ripple Prime’s launch clients, hasn’t committed to any volume.

Meanwhile, Deribit is introducing over 90 USDC-settled contracts for both crypto and traditional assets, so Hyperliquid faces tough competition from Deribit on pricing and liquidity for institutional business.

As of October 16, HYPE trades around $81, down 5% over the past week and about 17% from its September 23 peak of about $98. This positions HYPE as one of the largest cryptocurrencies closest to an all-time high, suggesting the market has already rewarded Hyperliquid’s growth, with Ripple’s launch potentially driving new trading volume.

XRP Gets No Direct Role in Ripple Prime’s New Product

With collateral valued in Ripple’s stablecoin and swaps operating without XRP involvement, Ripple could expand its prime brokerage services and increase earnings, while XRP demand remains unchanged.

Currently, XRP trades at $1.34, roughly 63% below its July 2025 record high of $3.65. Meanwhile, HYPE is about 17% below its own all-time high. XRP holders are facing a steeper decline, and recent victories for Ripple as a company haven’t yet translated into a recovery in its coin’s price.

XRP’s main advantage lies in its connection to US spot ETFs. These spot XRP ETFs hold the coin and trade like stocks, currently boasting $1.5 billion in net assets and registering inflows of about $740,000 on October 14, distinguishing it as the only major coin ETF group to see inflows that day.

Which Is the Better Buy After Ripple Prime’s Launch, HYPE or XRP?

In summary, while Ripple’s launch of Ripple Prime presents intriguing opportunities in traditional asset trading, HYPE and XRP’s performance and potential are shaped by different dynamics. As institutional interest grows, the implications for both coins will unfold in the coming months.

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