Evernorth Holdings, a digital asset firm connected to Ripple Labs, has announced intentions to go public via a merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on Nasdaq. This move is geared towards meeting the increasing institutional interest in publicly traded digital asset treasury companies.
The deal is anticipated to yield over $1 billion in gross proceeds, which includes a $200 million investment from Japan’s SBI Holdings, a company historically linked to SoftBank. Additional support is likely from Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR, as stated by the company said.
Evernorth plans to use the funds to establish one of the largest XRP (XRP) treasuries globally through open-market acquisitions of the digital asset.
Upon finalizing the merger, the new entity is projected to trade on Nasdaq with the ticker symbol XRPN.
Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla remarked that the new investment platform aims to “accelerate XRP adoption” in light of rising interest in decentralized finance (DeFi), providing investors with a public market option to access XRP and associated digital asset strategies.
This announcement follows reports that Ripple Labs intends to raise approximately $1 billion through XRP sales to form its digital asset treasury, merging newly acquired tokens with some of its existing holdings.
In a separate development, Ripple has recently agreed to acquire GTreasury, a corporate treasury management platform, in a deal valued at around $1 billion to enhance its enterprise liquidity and payment framework.
Simultaneously, various companies, including VivoPower, have introduced XRP-centered digital asset initiatives, highlighting the increasing institutional interest in the token.
Related: Democrats propose ‘restricted list’ for DeFi protocols, sparking outcry
The rise of digital asset treasury (DAT) strategies
Evernorth’s initiative to create a digital asset treasury is not an isolated case. This year, numerous firms have surfaced with similar goals to accumulate cryptocurrencies within their corporate balance sheets.
This trend largely stems from Michael Saylor’s strategy, where the first major public company embraced Bitcoin (BTC) as its primary treasury reserve asset — a position that has expanded to almost 700,000 BTC.
In addition to Bitcoin, corporate treasury strategies have broadened to encompass assets like Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ethena (ENA), and more, as companies investigate digital assets with promising growth potentials.
Nevertheless, not everyone is on board. Deng Chao, CEO of the crypto venture firm HashKey Capital, stated that digital asset treasury strategies continue to encounter skepticism from traditional finance, which he believes impedes wider institutional adoption.
Others echo similar concerns. David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin treasury firm Nakamoto, noted that subpar performance among altcoins has diminished trust in the wider digital asset treasury model.
“Toxic financing, failed altcoins rebranded as DATs, too many failed companies with no plan or vision. It’s totally muddled the narrative,” Bailey said.
Related: Bitcoin in consolidation as treasuries eye altcoins: Novogratz
