Ripple Prime has been shortlisted in four categories at the Hedgeweek US Awards 2026.
The company has been nominated for Prime Broker of the Year: Client Service, Prime Broker of the Year: Technology, Prime Broker of the Year: Specialist Markets, and Prime Broker of the Year: Start-up & Emerging Managers. Winners will be determined through public voting. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 8 in New York.
The nominations place Ripple Prime alongside established names in the traditional financial services industry, including major banks, trading platforms, and so on.
Ripple Prime's journey
Ripple Prime’s origins trace back to Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, which is a global prime brokerage and institutional credit network, in 2025. The $1.25 billion deal was one of Ripple’s largest moves into institutional financial markets.
Hidden Road was founded in 2018 by Marc Asch to provide prime brokerage services to hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, and institutional investors.
Following the acquisition, Hidden Road was rebranded as Ripple Prime, becoming a dedicated institutional-grade platform within Ripple’s broader financial ecosystem.
Expanding beyond payments
For much of its history, Ripple has been mainly associated with blockchain-based payments and the development of the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
Because of the acquisition of Hidden Road, Ripple began positioning itself as a provider of financial infrastructure for institutions.
The platform inherited Hidden Road’s existing institutional network and infrastructure, which was built to support trading and financing activities across various areas such as digital assets and derivatives.
The Hedgeweek nominations recognize various aspects of this model (tech capabilities, specialist market services and so on).
The “Specialist Markets” nomination is particularly notable, given that crypto remains a niche and novel institutional market.
Whether the company ultimately wins any of the four categories, the nominations show the increasing presence of digital asset-focused firms.
InkByte Editorial Team
Dan Burgin
