Ripple Prime Unveils OTC Spot Brokerage: What Does It Mean For US Investors?

Targeting the growing appetite among US investors for new cryptocurrency solutions, blockchain payments company Ripple announced the launch of its digital asset spot prime brokerage capabilities for the American market on Monday morning. 

This new offering allows US-based institutional clients to execute over-the-counter (OTC) spot transactions across a wide range of digital assets—including XRP and the firm’s dollar-pegged cryptocurrency RLUSD.

New Ripple Brokerage Services For US Institutions 

According to Ripple’s announcement, the launch follows the acquisition of Hidden Road. By merging its regulatory licenses with Hidden Road’s capabilities, Ripple has created Ripple Prime, which provides institutions with seamless access to foreign exchange (FX), digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and fixed income products. 

This acquisition is seen as a strategic move to facilitate the institutional adoption of digital assets, particularly in light of a more favorable regulatory environment under the recent Trump administration.

Moreover, RLUSD has gained regulatory compliance under the newly enacted stablecoin bill known as the GENIUS Act, which has been signed into law by President Trump earlier this year. 

This compliance is expected to enhance institutional trust and further integrate RLUSD into traditional financial operations. Michael Higgins, the International CEO of Ripple Prime, commented on the launch, stating: 

The introduction of OTC spot execution capabilities complements our existing suite of OTC and cleared derivatives services in digital assets and positions us to provide US institutions with a comprehensive offering to suit their trading strategies and needs. 

With this new feature, Ripple Prime’s US clients can now cross-margin their OTC spot transactions and holdings alongside their broader digital asset portfolios, including OTC swaps and Chicago-Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures and options.

In addition to these developments, Ripple is actively pursuing approval for its national bank charter license in the United States. This initiative places Ripple alongside other firms, such as Circle (CRCL), Coinbase (COIN), Sony Bank, Paxos, and Crypto.com (CRO).

Spot XRP ETFs Expected Soon

On the exchange-traded fund (ETF) front, market expert Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, has forecasted  on social media site X (previously Twitter) the launch of the first spot XRP ETFs within the next two weeks. 

This comes on the heels of a five-year litigation period between the SEC and Ripple, which concluded just three months ago. Geraci believes that the introduction of spot XRP ETFs could signify a major turning point, potentially marking the end of previous anti-crypto regulatory attitudes.

Notably, eight XRP ETFs have now been registered with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), indicating that these funds have entered DTCC’s operational pipeline and are actively being processed for potential trading. 

When writing, XRP trades at $2.41, representing a drop of 4.5% in the past 24 hours and over 8% in the weekly time frame. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com