The digital asset market is entering a new phase, one shaped less by short-term trading and more by structured capital, regulation, and enterprise demand.
Many market watchers now see 2026 as a turning point, when decentralized finance begins to operate at an institutional level. That shift took a concrete step forward with the public launch of Evernorth, a newly formed Nevada-based company focused on scaling XRP adoption for large investors.
Evernorth announced a business combination agreement with Armada Acquisition Corp II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company trading under the symbol AACI.
Once the transaction closes, the combined firm will operate as Evernorth and is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN, subject to standard listing approvals. The deal is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2026 and has already received unanimous board approval from both companies.
Also Read: Nasdaq Welcomes XRPN: Evernorth and Armada Seal $1 Billion XRP Deal
This agreement is anticipated to raise more than $1 billion in gross proceeds. Roughly $200 million of this investment has been contributed by SBI, which has its headquarters in Japan.
This has been accompanied by contributions from Ripple, Rippleworks, Pantera Capital, Kraken, GSR, and other prominent fintech investors. Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen has also contributed to this fundraising.
Evernorth will be a growth-oriented treasury vehicle, not a spot exchange-traded product. The primary plan for the offering will be to use the net proceeds to acquire XRP in the open market, creating a large institutional XRP reserve.
Apart from diversification, Evernorth will increase value by lending, adding liquidity, and participating in the decentralized markets for XRP.
Such a strategy takes advantage of the regulatory stance of XRP in the United States and its long experience in cross-border payments.
Over a decade of stable operation of its network with high liquidity makes XRP one of the few cryptocurrencies that can be considered adoptable by institutional investors.
Evernorth is headed by Chief Executive Officer Asheesh Birla. He was also working as the senior executive of Ripple, where he was part of the team responsible for the development of cross-border payment solutions.
The senior management of the company consists of CFO Matthew Frymier, COO Meg Nakamura, Chief Legal Officer Jessica Jonas, and CBO Sagar Shah.
Ripple is an investment partner, with management at Evernorth operating independently. The management at Ripple, led by Brad Garlinghouse, Stuart Alderoty, and David Schwartz, shall be strategic advisers rather than operators. They shall remain distinct entities as they help the ecosystem align.
Also Read: $1 Billion XRP Treasury by Evernorth Marks Major Leap for Institutional Adoption


BitGo’s move creates further competition in a burgeoning European crypto market that is expected to generate $26 billion revenue this year, according to one estimate. BitGo, a digital asset infrastructure company with more than $100 billion in assets under custody, has received an extension of its license from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), enabling it to offer crypto services to European investors. The company said its local subsidiary, BitGo Europe, can now provide custody, staking, transfer, and trading services. Institutional clients will also have access to an over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk and multiple liquidity venues.The extension builds on BitGo’s previous Markets-in-Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license, also issued by BaFIN, and adds trading to the existing custody, transfer and staking services. BitGo acquired its initial MiCA license in May 2025, which allowed it to offer certain services to traditional institutions and crypto native companies in the European Union.Read more
