By Ateev Bhandari and Arasu Kannagi Basil

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Evernorth, a new crypto venture

backed by digital asset firm Ripple, said on Monday it will list

on the Nasdaq through a merger with blank-check firm Armada

Acquisition Corp II ( AACI ) and is expected to raise more than

$1 billion in proceeds.

The digital asset treasury will focus on accumulating XRP, a

token linked to Ripple and the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by

market cap, according to data from CoinGecko.

The move comes months after Wall Street's top regulator

ended a high-profile crypto lawsuit, which accused Ripple of

selling unregistered securities to institutional investors.

Under a crypto-friendly Trump administration, Ripple is

looking to scale institutional adoption and presence of the XRP

token in capital markets.

The deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2026,

will create the largest XRP publicly traded XRP treasury

company, Evernorth said.

As scores of companies continue to wrap crypto assets into

equity, concerns are mounting over the spillover impact of a

correction in the equities markets. Earlier this month, crypto

assets suffered from their largest selloff ever after U.S.

President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China.

"I lost track around how many (asset holding plays) are

there around Ethereum," Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla, a former

Ripple executive, told Reuters in an interview. Birla added that

he will be stepping down from Ripple's board as he joins

Evernorth's.

Japanese firm SBI, which was previously affiliated with

SoftBank, is providing $200 million of the raise in exchange for

equity.

"We will look at acquisition opportunities," Birla said,

adding that Evernorth will be hiring and building out an

investment team as well.

The deal also saw participation from Ripple co-founder Chris

Larsen and digital asset firms Pantera Capital and Kraken, which

have a track record of funding such strategies.