Ripple secures $200M from Neuberger Berman to grow prime brokerage
What's the deal? Ripple's prime-brokerage unit has closed a $200 million funding facility with global investment firm Neuberger BermanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The capital will expand the margin Ripple Prime offers institutional investors to trade in both traditional and digital asset markets.
Ripple Prime is the rebranded version of Hidden Road, which Ripple acquired for $1.25 billion in 2025 — one of the largest deals in crypto history. Since the acquisition, the platform's revenue has tripled year over year.
Neuberger Berman, which manages roughly $570 billion in assets, will also bring expertise in asset-based finance. "Dependable access to financing and balance sheet strength are critical to institutional participants in today's dynamic markets," said Noel Kimmel, president of Ripple Prime.
Why now? Institutional appetite for crypto is surging, partly driven by the Trump administration's push for friendlier regulation. State Street announced a digital-asset platform earlier this year, and Standard Chartered is building a crypto prime brokerage.
Ripple itself has been on an acquisition tear. Beyond Hidden Road, it agreed to buy treasury-management software provider GTreasury for $1 billion. It also raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation, backed by Fortress Investment GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Citadel Securities, to fund expansion into custody, stablecoins, and prime brokerage.
What could go wrong? Margin financing amplifies risk. A sharp downturn in crypto or traditional markets could stress the platform's balance sheet — and its clients'. Regulatory clarity, while improving in the US, remains uneven globally and could shift quickly.
The signal: Neuberger Berman's $200 million facility marks a notable step beyond passive crypto exposure — a $570 billion traditional asset manager is now actively financing the margin infrastructure that underpins institutional digital-asset trading. Combined with Ripple's earlier $500 million raise backed by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, the deal illustrates how legacy finance players are embedding themselves deeper into crypto's institutional plumbing rather than simply investing from the sidelines.
Read more: coindesk.com
