Ripple brings Wall Street into 24/7 stock bets, but HSBC warns markets are still thin

Ripple is expanding its institutional brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, to offer round-the-clock trading on US equity exposures backed by RLUSD stablecoin collateral. The setup allows hedge funds and proprietary desks to hedge stock positions over weekends without waiting for traditional clearinghouses to open on Monday morning. Despite the technological milestone, HSBC research warned that off-hours liquidity remains fragmented, creating wide bid-ask spreads for large institutional orders. Market makers remain reluctant to warehouse heavy overnight equity risk when underlying primary exchanges and ETF creation desks are closed. Still, continuous stablecoin-margined settlement marks a growing convergence between crypto market structure and Wall Street prime brokerage.