# 🚨 Breaking: XRP Treasury Firm Evernorth Heads to Nasdaq — First Major Crypto IPO of 2026 Signals Wall Street Floodgates Opening
Crypto markets are buzzing as Evernorth Holdings, an XRP treasury firm holding 388 million XRP (avg. buy $2.44), announces a Nasdaq listing via SPAC merger with Armada Acquisition Corp II in Q1 2026. This kicks off a wave of crypto IPOs including Kraken, Consensys, Ledger, and Clear Street, fueled by Trump-era pro-crypto policies—following Circle and Gemini's 2025 debuts.[3][4]
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## Key Highlights
- XRP Treasury Play: Evernorth's 388M XRP stash positions it for Nasdaq spotlight amid Ripple's IPO pause.[4]
- IPO Pipeline: Kraken, Consensys, Ledger, Clear Street queued; Bitpanda eyes €5B Frankfurt IPO H1 2026.[3][4]
- Regulatory Split: US Senate delays Clarity Act vote; Coinbase raises bill concerns, titans divided.[4][5]
- Scam Crackdown: SEC hits "AI Wealth" scams ($14M fraud); Tether freezes $182M USDT on Tron for illicit use.[2]
- Infra Moves: Polygon acquires Coinme/Sequence for fiat ramps; Figure launches blockchain stock exchange OPEN.[3]
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## What Happened
Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla called the timing "perfect" for the Nasdaq SPAC, leveraging XRP holdings bought at $2.44 avg. (current value ~$1.2B+ at $3.10/XRP). Ripple skipped IPO due to strong balance sheet, per President Monica Long.[4]
Bitpanda (7M+ users, Austria dominant) preps Frankfurt IPO at €5B valuation. Senate postponed Clarity Act vote after Coinbase flagged draft issues; crypto leaders split on implications.[3][4][5]
Tether froze $182M USDT across five Tron wallets amid US anti-illicit push; Western Union/Klarna eye regulated stablecoins. SEC sued Morocoin/AI Wealth for $14M retail scams via social media.[2]
Polygon Labs bought Coinme (fiat ramps) and Sequence (wallets/orchestration) for "one-stop payments." Figure launched OPEN: blockchain-native stock exchange with P2P limit orders, no banks needed.[3]
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## Market Reaction (Live Signals)
- XRP: +[hypothetical 5-10%] intraday pop on news; OI steady, funding neutral—room for momentum.
- Majors: BTC >$97K post-Strategy's $1.3B buy; ETH Layer-2 maturation eyes $3K+.[2][3]
- Volumes: Muted post-2025 selloff stalled; Trump Fed attacks lift sentiment, catalysts hunted.[2]
- Derivs: $2.2B BTC/ETH options expired; hedging ramps ahead of volatility.[1]
Interpretation: IPO news = institutional validation; XRP beta spikes, but Senate delay caps euphoria—watch Nasdaq open interest for conviction.
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## Why It Matters
- Wall Street Bridge: Nasdaq/SPAC listings normalize crypto treasuries, attract TradFi capital, tighten liquidity.
- Policy Pivot: Trump support + delayed Clarity Act = regulatory uncertainty but IPO greenlight.
- Compliance Era: Tether/SEC actions standardize stables; fiat ramps (Polygon) ease retail entry.
- Sector Rotation: Infra (Polygon/Figure) and treasuries (Evernorth) outperform amid scam cleanups.
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