Ripple is stepping into the realm of leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF) financing via Ripple Prime, breaking into a sector long dominated by major banking institutions. This strategic shift follows the company’s USD 1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road and coincides with a crucial technical juncture for XRP.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Ripple Prime now provides financial backing to funds that multiply daily shifts in stocks and indexes. Concurrently, XRP is hovering inside a tight trading band, with market observers watching closely for a potential surge toward USD 2.
This growth area grants Ripple an alternative revenue stream for institutional financing fees, branching out beyond its core cryptocurrency ventures. At the same time, the technical setup of XRP has market participants monitoring two distinct price trajectories.
Ripple Prime Enters USD 256 Billion Leveraged ETF Market
Ripple’s entry into the financing space materialized following its October 2025 acquisition of Hidden Road for USD 1.25 billion. That deal integrated a fully functioning brokerage dealing in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, and digital assets.
Through Ripple Prime, the firm now extends funding to leveraged ETFs designed to multiply daily returns. Rather than purchasing extra shares, these vehicles frequently utilize financial agreements known as total return swaps.
As an illustration, a fund engineered to double the daily performance of Nvidia might employ a swap to secure that exposure. The financing partner then handles the associated risk while earning fee revenue.
The Wall Street Journal highlighted that the Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF compensates Ripple at an overnight benchmark rate plus four percentage points, translating to an annualized financing cost of roughly 8% under current conditions.
Data from Morningstar Direct indicates that the United States hosts 593 leveraged ETFs controlling upwards of USD 256 billion, of which 426 focus on individual equities.
Simultaneously, stricter capital regulations for traditional banks have created a vacuum, leaving room for nonbank lenders such as Ripple Prime, Jane Street, and Clear Street to step in.
Ripple Expands Institutional Services Through Brevan Howard
In August, Ripple debuted its Delta One division, introducing swaps tied to U.S. equities, broader market benchmarks, and digital currencies.
Upon debut, the division reported over USD 1 billion in regulatory net capital alongside a completed USD 275 million senior debt issuance intended to fuel further scaling.
In addition, Ripple announced a broadened partnership with hedge fund manager Brevan Howard on Tuesday. The updated arrangement will see Ripple Prime deliver financing, clearing, and brokerage capabilities across multiple asset classes.
Even so, financing leveraged ETFs comes with inherent hazards. These funds reset their exposure on a daily basis, and dramatic equity swings can trigger losses that outstrip the assets held by the fund.
Ripple has withheld figures regarding earnings generated by this financing division, nor has it shared metrics detailing how much operational volume involves XRP or the XRP Ledger.
Also Read: What Could the Agentic AI Era Mean for Ripple, XRP?
XRP Price Faces USD 2 Breakout Test as Trading Range Tightens
While Ripple broadens its footprint in institutional finance, XRP consolidates between USD 1.46 and USD 1.56 following an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim USD 1.70.
During an October 7 video update, analyst ChartNerd characterized the cryptocurrency’s setup as neutral. Price action has spent roughly a week pinned between a downward-sloping resistance line and a horizontal support level. ChartNerd pointed to USD 1.80 through USD 2 as prospective upward goals, with USD 2.05 marked as another potential milestone. However, the token must first overcome nearby hurdles at USD 1.65 and USD 1.69.
The analyst derived those figures using Fibonacci extensions mapped from the September trough of USD 1.25 to the subsequent USD 1.70 high.
At the time of writing, XRP changed hands near USD 1.47, reflecting a 24-hour decline of 1.5% and a weekly drop of nearly 2%. Meanwhile, transaction volume expanded by close to 32% to reach roughly USD 2.14 billion.
ChartNerd cautioned that prior price rallies yielded deceptive breakouts, stressing the need for definitive confirmation through a resistance breach, a successful retest, and a push past the local peak.
On the weekly timeframe, XRP has stayed underneath its 50-week exponential moving average for seven consecutive weeks, though its ascending 20-week average continues to offer a floor.
A validated upward break could bolster the bullish outlook, whereas a failure of the support floor around USD 1.46 risks pulling the asset down into the low USD 1.30s or further.
What’s Next for XRP?
Ripple Prime’s push into leveraged ETF financing bolsters its institutional portfolio in the wake of the Hidden Road buyout and the Brevan Howard accord. Simultaneously, XRP trades within a defined technical channel where a confirmed breakout could bring the USD 1.80–USD 2 range into focus, while a breakdown in support risks dragging prices toward USD 1.30.
