Ripple-backed Evernorth unveils $44M CEO award before XRP debut

Ripple-backed Evernorth has unveiled a $44 million CEO equity package in a fresh SEC filing while advancing its merger to create a Nasdaq-listed XRP treasury company.

According to Evernorth Holdings’ fourth amended Form S-4 registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company updated executive and director compensation arrangements while advancing the paperwork required for its proposed business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company backed by Arrington Capital.

The filing sets CEO Asheesh Birla’s base salary and grants him an initial equity award valued at about $44 million, together with vesting terms. Chief financial officer Matt Frymier would receive a base salary, annual bonus eligibility and an equity award worth about $5.6 million.

Evernorth also disclosed restricted stock unit awards valued at $750,000 for executives, subject to approval by the board’s compensation committee and the company’s shareholders.

Merger filing moves XRP treasury listing closer

Beyond executive compensation, the amended filing moves Evernorth another step toward completing its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp II. If the transaction receives regulatory and shareholder approval, the combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN while operating what Evernorth has described in its SEC filings as the largest publicly listed XRP treasury company.

According to the filing, Evernorth has secured more than $1 billion in gross proceeds from investors including Ripple, Arrington Capital, SBI Holdings, Pantera Capital and Kraken.

Board appointments were also updated. Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty is expected to join the board alongside CEO Asheesh Birla and Ted Janus. The proposed board would also include OpenAI Foundation chief financial officer Robert Kaiden and Antalpha chief operating officer Derar Islim.

Separately, Evernorth has expanded its public communications by launching a Japanese-language social media account focused on XRP-related updates and market education. In its introductory message, the company stated that Japan had supported XRP early and that it would continue building from there. However, Evernorth did not announce a new office, regulatory license, investment, product launch, or local operating business in Japan.

The company added that the Japanese account would explain market developments in simple terms and provide professional information without discussing XRP price movements or forecasts. Evernorth has not disclosed local staffing, partnerships or services connected to the initiative, while its website continues to list San Francisco as its primary headquarters.

XRPN stock holds steady as XRP activity grows

While the merger still awaits regulatory approval, Armada Acquisition Corp II shares have largely held their gains. The stock is up about 2.25% since the beginning of the year and has gained nearly 0.5% over the past month, although it closed 0.10% lower on Monday. Its 52-week high stands at $10.91.

Evernorth has also pointed to rising XRP adoption across several areas. According to the company, tokenized real-world assets on the XRP Ledger increased from roughly $150 million to $4 billion over the past year, supported by growth in spot XRP ETF inflows and an increase in newly created XRP wallets.

Meanwhile, XRP (XRP) traded at about $1.10 after rising 2.3% over the previous 24 hours. The token fluctuated between $1.06 and $1.11 during the session, while trading volume rose nearly 16% ahead of the release of U.S. consumer price index inflation data.