Shares of Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed under the ticker XRPN, soared approximately 273% last week as investors anticipated its merger with Evernorth, a company focused on managing XRP cryptocurrency reserves. The stock closed at $39.42 on Friday, up from $10.58 just a week earlier, and even briefly touched $53 during intraday trading.
Details of the merger and Evernorth’s XRP holdings
Evernorth expects to complete its merger with Armada on October 7, pending final closing conditions, according to a company statement. The combined entity is set to hold about 473 million XRP, valued at approximately $714 million based on Monday’s price of $1.51 per token. The transaction also includes $300 million in gross cash proceeds from several sources, such as $225 million raised through private placements, $30 million from convertible notes, and $48 million from Armada’s trust.
Armada originally held $241.2 million in its trust account at the end of June, with a per-share redemption value of roughly $10.49. An announcement from Evernorth stated that only $48 million in trust funds would remain after redemptions, indicating that roughly 80% of the funds will return to shareholders. This large return may reduce the number of shares available for public trading and contribute to significant price fluctuations.
SPACs like Armada function by raising capital, placing it in a trust, and then merging with a private company. Public shareholders have the option to redeem their shares for cash before the deal closes if they do not wish to remain invested in the new entity.
Mini dictionary: SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) — A publicly traded company created to raise investment funds through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing private company. After the merger, the private company typically becomes publicly listed.
Armada shareholders redeemed a significant portion of their trust holdings, leaving just $48 million for the transaction and likely increasing volatility in public trading due to a reduced share float.
Challenges in crypto treasury listings and XRP investment results
Evernorth spent $214.1 million on 84.4 million XRP tokens through the end of 2025, paying an average of $2.54 per coin. This tranche is currently valued at approximately $127 million, reflecting losses as XRP prices have declined since those purchases.
Other cryptocurrency treasury listings have faced similar difficulties. For example, Twenty One, backed by Tether, fell 25% in early trading during its New York Stock Exchange debut in December, nearing the $10 price originally paid by private-placement investors. ProCap BTC’s shares fell by over 60% following its own public listing.
| Company | Initial Listing Price | Current/Recent Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Armada (Evernorth) | $10.58 | $39.42 (up 273% in a week) |
| Twenty One | $13.30 | $10 (fell 25% IPO day) |
| ProCap BTC | N/A | Down 60% after merger |
Large-scale redemptions and subsequent thin public floats have contributed to sharp price volatility following crypto treasury SPAC mergers, as seen in recent market examples.
Potential price swings linked to redemptions
Analysts noted that when a substantial portion of public shares are redeemed before a SPAC merger, the remaining pool of shares becomes very limited. This scarcity enables smaller trades to result in outsized moves in the price, a scenario evident in Armada’s recent surge.
The merger result, which brings a large treasury of XRP onto public markets, occurs amid heightened scrutiny of the viability and price performance of crypto-related SPAC deals in the current environment.
