Ripple Prime CEO backs EDX deal as XRP stays offstage

Ripple Prime’s new EDX integration gives institutional clients unified spot and perpetual futures access, while RLUSD takes the planned settlement role and XRP remains absent from the front-facing deal.

Ripple said on May 19 that Ripple Prime had integrated with EDX Markets and EDXM International. The setup gives institutional clients access to EDX spot liquidity and EDXM International perpetual futures through one prime brokerage framework. Ripple said the structure is designed for credit intermediation, net settlement, and collateral management across digital asset markets.

Michael Higgins, International CEO of Ripple Prime, framed the move as a market-structure upgrade for institutions.

“Institutions don’t want to manage more venues, they want smarter infrastructure,” he said in the X post. 

He added that the integration gives clients access to spot and perpetual futures markets through one capital-efficient framework. Ripple’s official release also quoted Higgins saying EDX gives clients the performance, reliability, and depth they expect.

RLUSD takes the planned settlement role

The official announcement places RLUSD at the center of the next stage. Ripple said the partnership lays the groundwork for Ripple USD to be used as a settlement and collateral asset on EDX. It said this would let institutional clients post and receive margin through a regulated dollar-pegged digital asset.

That wording leaves XRP outside the main EDX message. Ripple did say that both RLUSD and XRP support its wider enterprise stack, but the EDX release only names RLUSD for future settlement and collateral use. For now, the public pitch is built around stablecoin-based margin rather than XRP settlement.

XRP question follows wider Ripple Prime expansion

The XRP debate is not separate from Ripple’s larger Wall Street strategy. Related coverage shows Ripple Prime recently secured up to $200 million in financing from Neuberger Berman to expand margin services across crypto, equities, fixed income, and foreign exchange. The facility followed Ripple’s Hidden Road acquisition and the relaunch of that business as Ripple Prime.

Separate coverage also showed Ripple Prime connecting clients to Bullish’s regulated Bitcoin options market while OKX expanded RLUSD support in compliant markets. That report said RLUSD was live on OKX spot markets across more than 280 pairs and could be used as institutional-grade margin collateral for derivatives where available.

Institutional pitch favors stablecoin rails

The EDX deal shows how Ripple is presenting its institutional business to banks, funds, and trading firms. The message focuses on fewer venues, deeper liquidity, net settlement, and compliant collateral. That fits firms that want crypto exposure without managing many accounts across different platforms.

The main point is clear: Ripple Prime is using EDX to widen institutional trading access, while RLUSD is being positioned for collateral and settlement. XRP has not been named in that role for this deal. That leaves XRP holders watching whether the token later appears inside the trading or settlement layer.