Bullish, a Cayman Islands-based institutionally focused digital asset platform listed on the NYSE, has announced an expansion of its partnership with Ripple Prime, Ripple's global multi-asset prime brokerage platform, to extend access to Bullish's regulated Bitcoin options markets for Ripple Prime's institutional clients.
The enhanced integration gives Ripple Prime users direct access to Bullish's BTC options markets, described as the second-largest by open interest for crypto-settled Bitcoin options, complementing existing connectivity to Bullish's spot, perpetuals, and dated futures. Stablecoins, including Ripple USD (RLUSD), can be used to trade options on Bullish. Ripple Prime users can deploy capital immediately through existing sub-account structures without additional KYC requirements.
Capital efficiency and institutional infrastructure
Planned support for cross-venue margin will allow institutions to optimise collateral across exchanges and over-the-counter desks, improving capital efficiency by reducing the need to hold separate collateral pools at multiple venues. The capability is particularly relevant for institutional participants managing complex multi-leg digital asset strategies across derivatives and spot markets simultaneously.
Furthermore, Ripple Prime is described as one of the largest global non-bank prime brokers, offering multi-asset brokerage, clearing, and financing services, and cleared over USD 3 trillion in 2025, according to company data. The expansion of its Bullish integration broadens the range of derivatives products available to its institutional client network.
Commenting on the news, Chris Tyrer, President of Bullish Exchange, noted that institutional demand for crypto derivatives is growing and that options access is central for sophisticated investors managing risk across digital asset portfolios. Further expanding on this, Mike Higgins, International CEO at Ripple Prime, mentioned that the cross-margin capability strengthens the depth of market participation and optimises capital efficiency for institutional clients facing a regulated and well-capitalised counterparty.
Before this announcement, Bullish joined Deutsche Bank in a corporate banking collaboration to offer fiat integration for institutional crypto trading. The two companies intended to further advance integration of traditional financial services within the digital asset sector.
