Key Takeaways
- • Evernorth Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XRPN) appointed Hugo Jeandesboz, former co-chief investment officer of Coinbase Asset Management, as chief investment officer on Oct. 12, 2026, to direct its treasury of approximately 473 million XRP.
- • Jeandesboz reports to founder and CEO Asheesh Birla and oversees allocation, liquidity management, and active management of the holdings, and serves as the senior contact for trading counterparties and custodians.
- • Evernorth completed its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II on Oct. 9, bringing approximately 473 million XRP and about $300 million in gross cash proceeds before transaction expenses into public markets.
- • Management plans to grow XRP per share through institutional and DeFi yield strategies, ecosystem participation, and capital markets activities.
- • Evernorth corrected its post-closing Class A share issuance to 1,078,614 shares from 663,510, attributing the error to a clerical mistake.
Summary
Evernorth Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XRPN) announced on Oct. 12 that it had appointed Hugo Jeandesboz as chief investment officer, placing a former Coinbase Asset Management executive in charge of investment strategy for an XRP treasury holding approximately 473 million tokens at closing. Jeandesboz reports to founder and CEO Asheesh Birla and oversees allocation, liquidity management, and active management of the company's holdings. The role also makes him the senior contact for trading counterparties and the custodians that safeguard Evernorth's assets.
Jeandesboz brings more than a decade of institutional trading and portfolio management experience across digital and traditional markets. At Coinbase Asset Management he served as co-chief investment officer and led tailored institutional strategies. Previously he was lead derivatives trader at Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), overseeing options, futures, and blockchain-based markets. Earlier roles included interest rate derivatives trading at HSBC and quantitative strategy at Societe Generale.
The appointment follows Evernorth's completed merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, on Oct. 9. The transaction brought the XRP treasury into public markets alongside about $300 million in gross cash proceeds before transaction expenses. Reported investors included Arrington Capital, SBI Group, Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR. The company's common stock began trading under XRPN on Oct. 12. Management intends to increase XRP per share through institutional and decentralized finance yield strategies, ecosystem participation, and capital markets activities. Birla linked the appointment to opportunities in tokenized real-world assets and DeFi, including the XRP Ledger institutional lending framework outlined by Ripple, in which credit decisions occur off-ledger while loan servicing and repayments run on-ledger.
Separately, Standard Chartered expanded custody support for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 12. That asset is distinct from XRP. Planned collateral integration with Ripple and LMAX Group would allow eligible holdings to support trading while remaining in bank custody, subject to testing, documentation, and approvals.
Alongside the appointment, Evernorth corrected its post-closing securities filing, reporting 1,078,614 Class A shares issued to delayed-funding subscribers rather than 663,510, which it attributed to a clerical error. The corrected figure equals the aggregate subscription amount, paid in cash or XRP, divided by $10 per share.
Jeandesboz brings more than a decade of institutional trading and portfolio management experience across digital and traditional markets. At Coinbase Asset Management he served as co-chief investment officer and led tailored institutional strategies. Previously he was lead derivatives trader at Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), overseeing options, futures, and blockchain-based markets. Earlier roles included interest rate derivatives trading at HSBC and quantitative strategy at Societe Generale.
The appointment follows Evernorth's completed merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company, on Oct. 9. The transaction brought the XRP treasury into public markets alongside about $300 million in gross cash proceeds before transaction expenses. Reported investors included Arrington Capital, SBI Group, Ripple, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR. The company's common stock began trading under XRPN on Oct. 12. Management intends to increase XRP per share through institutional and decentralized finance yield strategies, ecosystem participation, and capital markets activities. Birla linked the appointment to opportunities in tokenized real-world assets and DeFi, including the XRP Ledger institutional lending framework outlined by Ripple, in which credit decisions occur off-ledger while loan servicing and repayments run on-ledger.
Separately, Standard Chartered expanded custody support for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 12. That asset is distinct from XRP. Planned collateral integration with Ripple and LMAX Group would allow eligible holdings to support trading while remaining in bank custody, subject to testing, documentation, and approvals.
Alongside the appointment, Evernorth corrected its post-closing securities filing, reporting 1,078,614 Class A shares issued to delayed-funding subscribers rather than 663,510, which it attributed to a clerical error. The corrected figure equals the aggregate subscription amount, paid in cash or XRP, divided by $10 per share.
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