- Ripple Prime’s unified platform, linked to Hyperliquid, now provides institutions with exposure to gold, silver, and oil via on-chain perpetual contracts.
- The move comes amid a significant recovery in gold and silver prices, while further increases in oil prices threaten global economic balance.
Fresh from its integration of Hyperliquid (HYPE), Ripple Prime (formerly Hidden Road) is expanding its support to traditional assets. Mike Higgins, BD/CD at Ripple Prime, announced that the unified platform will now support HIP-3 (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3) symbols, paving the way for institutions to trade on-chain perpetuals for gold, silver, and oil.
The move comes as demand for exposure to these three crucial assets has risen amid economic and geopolitical instability. Gold and silver remain safe-haven assets that help counteract inflationary pressures. Meanwhile, oil maintains its status as a primary barometer of global energy security, which has reached a new level of scarcity as key maritime trade routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, are threatened with closure by several actors in the ongoing Middle East tensions.
Higgins highlighted that Ripple Prime’s new deployment further gives users flexibility in their unified portfolios by adding exposure to traditional finance (TradFi) within a decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure. It gives them access to the commodity perp markets without opening separate accounts.
Gold, Silver, and Oil Performance
Past Tuesday midnight (UTC), Tether Gold (XAUT), a stable asset pegged 1:1 to one troy ounce of physical gold, has surged between $4,462.56 and $4,599.50 in the last 24 hours. The XAUT token just went live on Binance on Monday, but the key catalyst for its appreciation is its technical bounce from oversold conditions on the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) over the past two weeks.
Additionally, the rising cost of commodities, primarily driven by rising oil and energy prices, is fueling almost “guaranteed” recession forecasts in the US. Coupled with the federal debt spiking more than $39 trillion, analysts believe the event is no longer a matter of “if,” but a matter of “when.”
The Walmart Recession Signal (WRS) further confirms that the country is rapidly spiraling into a sharp economic downturn. Silver has also tracked gold progress, maintaining its price around $72 per ounce.
At the time of this report, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude maintained their values at roughly $111 and $102 per barrel, respectively. However, market participants are bracing for more price increases as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) prepares to enforce a tighter blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, where approximately 20% to 25% of global seaborne oil traffic passes.
What’s worse, the Middle East conflict’s escalation threatens the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as Iran-funded Houthi rebels in Yemen are positioning themselves to disrupt the route servicing 8% to 12% of maritime oil supply.
