Ripple Prime, the brokerage arm of Ripple, began offering institutional clients continuous swaps on more than 100 real-world asset markets last Thursday, covering products tied to equities, energy and foreign exchange. The instruments reference perpetual contracts listed on Hyperliquid, placing Ripple in a fast-growing segment that reportedly handled about $700 billion in trading volume in August alone.

The launch comes as debate continues over whether institutional demand for perpetual futures is real or still limited. Ripple has said Virtu is already trading the product, while JPMorgan wrote in June that its desks were seeing “no/limited institutional demand” for perpetual futures.

A market growing faster than consensus

Real-world asset perpetuals were barely a market a year ago, but they now span venues including Hyperliquid, Lighter, Binance, Bybit and OKX. Other platforms have also started to test the category, with Kalshi offering gold and silver exposure and Robinhood introducing similar products in Europe.

That expansion has happened even as large parts of traditional finance remain unconvinced. In July, CME chairman and chief executive Terry Duffy told analysts that the exchange had not heard customer demand for the products. At the same time, CME has challenged the CFTC over its approval of rival perpetual products, highlighting the tension between scepticism from incumbents and the pace of new launches.

Why 24/7 trading is under scrutiny

Perpetuals are typically promoted on two key advantages over traditional derivatives: they can be held indefinitely, and they trade around the clock. The first point can reduce operational complexity, while the second is marketed as a way for traders to adjust positions whenever markets move.

But trading behaviour on major venues has not fully matched that round-the-clock pitch. According to the source article, volumes in Brent crude perpetuals on Hyperliquid and Binance drop sharply once traditional markets close on Friday. Since launch, weekends have accounted for only around 10% to 11% of total volume on both platforms, even though weekends represent roughly 29% of the hours in a week. That suggests traders are using those hours far less than a truly continuous market model would imply.

Stress periods appear to be the clearest use case

The strongest evidence for 24/7 utility has come during periods of geopolitical stress. The source article points to the conflict that followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February and the subsequent drone retaliation across the Gulf. During the early phase of that war, Hyperliquid’s Brent market, which launched in early March, saw some of its busiest weekends.

Trading from April 10 to 12, the first weekend after a ceasefire was announced, reportedly ran at more than three times its usual level as markets focused on whether the Strait of Hormuz would reopen to shipping. The broader pattern described in the article is that weekend activity rose most when traders faced exceptional uncertainty and had few alternatives, rather than as a normal feature of day-to-day market use.

Ripple enters a crowded field

That backdrop leaves Ripple Prime entering a market that is expanding, but not necessarily quickly enough for every new participant. The article argues that the larger challenge may not be competition with traditional finance, but competition among perpetual venues themselves, especially in real-world asset products.

For Brent contracts, Hyperliquid’s trading volumes have fallen to roughly a third of the $3 billion to $4 billion peak seen in early April, according to the article. Over the same period, Binance has gained ground, with weekly volume now about $1 billion to $2 billion higher than Hyperliquid’s and still rising. If that pattern continues, newer entrants may have to compete for demand that is growing, but still limited relative to the number of platforms pursuing it.

What comes next

Ripple’s immediate test is whether it can convert institutional access into sustained activity across its new RWA swap offering. The product already has at least one named user, with Ripple saying Virtu is trading it, but the broader question of institutional appetite remains unresolved.

The clearest confirmed next step is market adoption itself. If trading stays concentrated around periods of volatility and headline risk, the case for 24/7 RWA perpetuals may remain niche. If institutions begin using them routinely outside crisis conditions, that would challenge the scepticism expressed by JPMorgan and CME leadership.

Source: www.blockhead.co