Evernorth has announced its plans to go public on the Nasdaq with more than $1 billion in total capital, positioning itself as the world’s largest publicly traded XRP-focused company. The merger deal is expected to close in Q1 2026.
Evernorth’s Path to Nasdaq
The newly formed Evernorth Holdings Inc., incorporated in Nevada, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Armada Acquisition Corp II, a publicly listed SPAC. Upon completion, the combined entity will operate under the Evernorth brand and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN, pending listing approval.
The transaction is projected to generate over $1 billion in gross proceeds, including $200 million from SBI Holdings and additional investments from Ripple Labs, Rippleworks Foundation, Pantera Capital, Kraken, GSR, and Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple Labs.
Building the World’s Largest Institutional XRP Treasury
Evernorth intends to allocate most of the raised funds toward purchasing XRP tokens on the open market, creating the largest institutional XRP treasury globally. The remaining capital will fund operations and other corporate purposes.
According to the company, Evernorth will be the first public investment vehicle offering investors direct, liquid, and transparent exposure to XRP. Unlike passive ETFs, Evernorth will actively increase XRP holdings per share through institutional lending, liquidity provisioning, and DeFi strategies.
“Evernorth is designed to give investors more than just exposure to XRP’s price,” said Ashish Birla, CEO of Evernorth. “By combining traditional yield-generation strategies with DeFi innovation, we aim to accelerate the XRP ecosystem’s growth. It’s a symbiotic model—Evernorth’s success is tied to XRP’s maturity and adoption.”
Ripple’s Strategic Role
Evernorth’s initiative follows Ripple Labs’ recent announcement of a $1 billion XRP reserve. The company believes XRP’s established regulatory framework in the U.S., proven use in global payments, and over a decade of uninterrupted uptime make it uniquely positioned for institutional adoption.
The leadership team includes Ashish Birla (CEO, former Ripple Labs executive), Matthew Freymier (CFO), Meg Nakamura (COO), Jessica Jonas (General Counsel), and Sagar Shah (Chief Commercial Officer) — all veterans in finance and capital management.
Ripple Labs will act as a strategic investor, with Brad Garlinghouse, Stuart Alderoty, and David Schwartz serving as strategic advisors to ensure alignment with the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
“Ripple has always viewed XRP as a global asset for efficient payments,” said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. “Evernorth shares that vision, expanding access, trust, and utility within the XRP ecosystem. I’m confident Ashish and his team will elevate XRP’s presence in the capital markets to new heights.”
Driving Institutional Adoption of XRP
Both companies’ boards have unanimously approved the merger. The closing is expected in Q1 2026, pending standard regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Evernorth aims not only to manage a massive XRP treasury but also to foster long-term growth of the XRP ecosystem through:
- Operating XRP validators to enhance network security;
- Integrating DeFi protocols using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin;
- Expanding markets that support real-world XRP use cases in payments, tokenization, and financial services.
The company emphasized its mission to go beyond accumulation, positioning Evernorth as a key institutional force behind XRP Ledger adoption.
Notably, this announcement comes amid a renewed wave of uncertainty and volatility around XRP, following recent U.S. trade policy developments under President Donald Trump.
