Ripple Prime has secured four nominations at the Hedgeweek U.S. Awards 2026 as Ripple continues expanding its business beyond blockchain payments and into institutional financial services.

The prime brokerage platform received nominations for Prime Broker of the Year in Client Service, Technology, Specialist Markets, and Start-up & Emerging Managers, according to Ripple Prime CEO Michael Higgins. Hedgeweek’s awards page lists Ripple among shortlisted firms across its prime brokerage categories. Winners will be selected following public voting, with the awards ceremony scheduled for Oct. 8 in New York.

Higgins announced the nominations in a social media post, writing, “Proud to share that Ripple Prime has been shortlisted for several ‘Prime Broker of the Year’ recognitions.” The shortlist also includes established financial firms and brokerage providers competing across Hedgeweek’s institutional service categories.

Four nominations follow Ripple Prime’s institutional expansion

The nominations cover several parts of Ripple Prime’s business model. The client service category focuses on support offered to institutional customers, while the technology category assesses the infrastructure used to provide brokerage services. The specialist markets category covers firms serving less traditional markets, while the emerging managers category focuses on services for newer investment firms.

Hedgeweek says its in-house judging panel selects service provider finalists before the process moves to a public vote. The final result considers both voting and the quality of each submission. The event is scheduled to take place at Convene on Park Avenue in New York.

The nominations arrive less than a year after Ripple completed its acquisition of Hidden Road and renamed the business Ripple Prime. As crypto.news previously reported, Ripple closed the $1.25 billion acquisition in October 2025 after first announcing the agreement in April. The deal gave Ripple ownership of a global multi-asset prime brokerage operation serving institutional clients.

Ripple says Ripple Prime now clears more than $3 trillion annually across markets and serves more than 300 institutional customers. Its services cover digital assets, foreign exchange, precious metals, exchange-traded derivatives, over-the-counter swaps and fixed-income repo markets.

Hidden Road deal moved Ripple beyond its payments roots

Ripple built much of its earlier business around blockchain-based payments and infrastructure connected to the XRP Ledger. The Hidden Road acquisition added a different part of the financial market, giving the company a platform that provides clearing, financing and brokerage services across traditional and digital assets.

Prime brokers typically provide services that allow large trading firms, hedge funds and other professional investors to manage financing and trading through a central relationship. Ripple Prime offers portfolio financing, risk-based margin services and multi-asset market access while supporting both traditional and crypto markets.

The business has continued adding institutional financing since the acquisition. As crypto.news reported, Ripple Prime secured access to a financing facility of up to $200 million from Neuberger Berman in May. The funding supports margin services across crypto, equities, fixed income and foreign exchange, depending on client borrowing demand.

Ripple Prime President Noel Kimmel said at the time, “The future of prime finance is supporting all major asset classes through a single structure and credit line.” The financing arrangement gives the platform additional lending capacity as it builds services for clients trading across several markets.

Ripple Prime adds trading venues and wider market access

Ripple Prime has also expanded its connections with digital asset trading venues. As crypto.news previously reported, the platform integrated with EDX Markets and EDXM International in May, giving institutional customers access to spot and perpetual futures markets through its brokerage structure.

The arrangement was designed to support credit intermediation, collateral management and net settlement. Ripple also said the partnership could eventually use its RLUSD stablecoin for settlement and collateral on EDX. The agreement followed other moves by Ripple Prime to connect clients with regulated digital asset markets.

Meanwhile, the Neuberger Berman financing deal added another part of the platform’s institutional offering. Ripple Prime can draw from the facility as client demand grows, allowing it to provide more margin across multiple asset classes. The company has also expanded access to crypto options and other institutional trading products since becoming part of Ripple.

The Hedgeweek nominations now place Ripple Prime alongside firms with longer histories in prime brokerage and institutional finance. However, the nominations do not guarantee an award. Hedgeweek will determine the winners after its public voting process and review of the shortlisted submissions.

For Ripple, the nominations come as the company continues integrating the business it acquired through Hidden Road. Ripple Prime now forms the brokerage, financing and trading part of a wider institutional product range that also includes payments, custody and stablecoin services. The Oct. 8 awards ceremony will determine whether the platform converts any of its four nominations into a win.