Evernorth, backed by blockchain developer Ripple Labs, has announced the launch of a fund exceeding 1 billion USD. The company aims to accumulate the cryptocurrency XRP through debt issuance, following a strategy similar to that of Bitcoin pioneer MicroStrategy.
Through a merger with the publicly listed SPAC Armada Acquisition Corp II, Evernorth plans to go public on the US Nasdaq exchange under the new ticker “XRPN.” Co-investors include Japan’s SBI Holdings (with a commitment of around 200 million USD), Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, and prominent crypto investors such as Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR, according to Reuters.
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XRP in the spotlight of a treasury firm
In a press release, Evernorth announced its intention to raise more than 1 billion USD in capital through the planned listing. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to purchase XRP on the open market, aiming to build the world’s largest institutional XRP treasury. This aligns with Ripple’s broader strategy of supporting companies that use XRP as a reserve currency.
In addition to the IPO proceeds, Ripple has reportedly agreed to contribute part of its own XRP holdings. Last week, one of the company’s addresses transferred approximately 500 million USD worth of XRP to a new wallet, according to the XRP Ledger block explorer. So far, no one has confirmed whether the transaction is related to the deal.
Ripple jumps on board
Across the crypto world, more players are viewing digital assets as “treasury assets,” and this initiative is part of that broader movement. While Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) set the pace by acquiring tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin, more participants are now focusing on the accumulation of alternative cryptocurrencies.
Whether Evernorth can keep up with its competitors depends on several factors: the successful completion of its listing, the ability to deploy capital efficiently into XRP, the market and regulatory environment, and investor appetite for such vehicles. In any case, the initiative marks another step toward the institutionalization of the crypto market – with XRP at its center.
