The news
Evernorth Holdings, a company built to hold the XRP cryptocurrency on its balance sheet, now expects to start trading on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN on or about October 12, 2026, according to an October 6 SEC filing that cited an administrative delay.
The listing comes through a merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), whose shareholders approved the deal at an extraordinary general meeting on September 30, the companies said on October 1. That announcement had targeted an October 7 closing and October 8 trading debut. The October 6 filing moved the expected closing to on or about October 9 and said the delay is not expected to affect the closing.
Evernorth says it expects to hold about 473 million XRP when the deal closes, which it describes as the largest publicly traded pure-play XRP treasury. The company puts gross cash proceeds at about $300 million: $225 million from private placements, $30 million in convertible notes and about $48 million from Armada II's trust account, plus XRP contributed in kind by investors. The announcement's headline said the transaction and related placements raised more than $1 billion. Backers named by the companies include Arrington Capital, SBI Group, Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken and GSR.
Asheesh Birla is Evernorth's founder and CEO. Armada II is led by CEO Taryn Naidu, with Michael Arrington as chairman. Birla said in the announcement that going public offers investors "a regulated, transparent way to own XRP exposure."
Why it's trending: US Google searches for "xrp" climbed on October 7 as the debut date approached. In the week to Friday, October 2, Armada II's shares jumped from $10.58 to $39.42, a 273% gain, and briefly touched $53, CoinDesk reported. The same week, the trust held roughly $10.50 per share. On October 7, CoinDesk reported crypto liquidations of $547 million as bitcoin slipped to about $84,200.
The numbers
- XRP expected at closing
- ~473 million
- Gross cash proceeds (company)
- ~$300 million
- XRPN weekly gain to Oct. 2 (CoinDesk)
- 273%
- Expected first trading day
- On or about Oct. 12, 2026
Why CEOs should care
For CFOs and treasurers weighing digital assets, Evernorth is a high-profile test of a single-token treasury listed on a major US exchange. The numbers show why the headline figure needs unpacking. CoinDesk reported that about $214.1 million had already bought 84.4 million XRP through the end of 2025, at an average of $2.54 per token, a stake it valued at about $127 million at early-October prices. CryptoSlate estimated that only about $88.5 million in cash is tied to the closing itself, before costs such as $9.2 million in deferred underwriting fees.
For boards and investors, the risk the company itself flags is liquidity. The October 6 filing lists the level of shareholder redemptions as a factor that may shrink the public float, meaning fewer shares trade. CoinDesk reported that about 80% of trust funds were expected to go back to shareholders and noted that a small float lets modest orders move the price sharply. Other crypto treasury companies have struggled after their mergers, the outlet added.
Questions worth asking before any similar move: how much of a vehicle's token stack was bought with cash versus contributed in kind, what the stock trades at relative to its tokens, and what happens to that gap when the token price falls. With a thin float, also ask how easily a position could be sold in a falling market.
The bigger picture
Evernorth joins a wave of public companies that hold a single cryptocurrency as their main asset, a model popularized by bitcoin holders. XRP traded around $1.48 on October 1 after gaining more than 40% in the third quarter, The Block reported, with a market value above $93 billion. Ripple, the San Francisco payments company most closely tied to XRP, is among Evernorth's backers.
What’s next
Until the merger closes, Armada II shares trade on Nasdaq under the XRPN ticker. The filing points to a closing on or about October 9 and first Nasdaq trading as XRPN on or about October 12. Watch the final redemption figure, the size of the public float, and how the shares trade against the value of the roughly 473 million XRP the company expects to hold.
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