Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
- XRP treasury heads to Nasdaq: Evernorth's SPAC merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II is at its final shareholder vote, with trading planned as XRPN. The treasury holds about 473M XRP from Ripple and over $1B in institutional commitments, with closing expected in Q4 2026.
- Tokenization boom: Ripple is partnering with Brazil's CSD BR ($4T in assets) to mirror tokenized BTG Pactual fund shares on the XRP Ledger. Meanwhile, the SEC approved a five-year "Innovation Exemption" for tokenized stocks after the CLARITY Act failed.
- Market backdrop: BTC is consolidating at $83,300–$83,700 and ETH at $2,660–$2,690. Spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $2.39B last week, and $197.8M in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours.
The cryptocurrency market is ending the third quarter in prolonged consolidation, where the outward calm merely masks tectonic shifts within the industry. Bitcoin (BTC), having failed to hold near local highs around $87,300, has firmly settled into the 83,300–83,700 range. Ethereum (ETH) is moving in tandem, holding within the narrow 2,660–2,690 band after a recent attempt to break through $2,743.
Sentiment among major players remains firmly in "greed" territory, at 66–71 points. For BTC, this has been a strong quarter—the asset has gained around 42%, and September has every chance of becoming its best on record.
U.S. macroeconomic conditions are currently the main constraint on another market surge. The yield on 10-year Treasuries remains at 5.23–5.24%, severely limiting liquidity inflows into risk assets.
Nevertheless, institutional demand has not dried up. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net weekly inflows of $2.39 billion, although the daily pace slowed to $66.19 million toward the end of the month as per SoSoValue.
The market is digesting the fallout from a technical glitch on Bitget that triggered $463 million in outflows over 24 hours. Investors remain cautious, waiting for the next ISM Manufacturing PMI reading.
Elsewhere, excess leverage is being actively unwound. Over the past 24 hours, positions held by 67,756 traders have been forcibly closed for a total of $197.80 million, according to CoinGlass.
Long positions were hit twice as hard as shorts — $125.61 million versus $72.20 million. ETH ($46.55 million) and BTC ($33.75 million) were at the epicenter of this 24-hour storm.
All this liquidity is on hold ahead of the start of Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul. However, a real break from the broader sideways market is unfolding today at the intersection of traditional exchanges and the Ripple ecosystem.
How a Ripple-backed XRP treasury is preparing for a Nasdaq listing through a SPAC merger
While the market leaders consolidate, XRP is trading around $1.49. The asset has a substantial $159 million cluster of short liquidations in the $1.50 – $1.553 range.
According to SoSoValue, XRP-based products recorded net daily inflows of +$1.55 million. They were the only ones to finish in positive territory amid outflows from BTC and ETH funds.
This targeted interest leads us directly to the morning's main corporate event. The final stage of the merger between Evernorth Holdings and SPAC Armada Acquisition Corp. II has concluded.
The advance proxy voting portal has officially closed. Shareholders are now holding a live extraordinary meeting to give the deal final approval.
This step opens a direct path to creating the largest publicly traded company with an XRP treasury. The combined entity is preparing for a major listing on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN.
Investor confidence is backed by hard numbers:
Reserves: Around 473 million XRP tokens, provided directly by Ripple.
Capital: More than $1 billion in confirmed investment commitments from institutional heavyweights, including SBI Holdings and Arrington Capital.
The transaction is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to SEC Form S-4 filings. The market views this precedent as the emergence of a legal proxy instrument for traditional U.S. capital.
This Nasdaq case aligns perfectly with another major direction for Ripple. This involves the company's fundamental breakthrough in Latin America.
Ripple announced a partnership with Brazil's Central Securities Depository (CSD BR), which oversees $4 trillion in assets. Units in BTG Pactual's investment funds will be tokenized and mirrored on the XRP Ledger using the MPT standard and Ripple Custody.
Legally, CSD BR remains the sole official register. The XRPL blockchain serves only as an additional audit layer within a closed, permissioned system with KYC/AML and freeze functions.
The regulatory vacuum has turned real-world asset tokenization into an arena of fierce competition
The institutional shift toward real-world asset (RWA) tokenization has fully entered the realm of fierce market competition. The prolonged regulatory vacuum in the U.S. has been the driving force behind this process.
After the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act, the SEC seized the initiative. The Commission approved a five-year Innovation Exemption for trading tokenized stocks through AMMs and liquidity pools.
The rules have become stricter — a ban on synthetic instruments and market share caps of 2.5% have been introduced. Related swaps have also been excluded, which is why earlier retail speculation in AMC tokens on Robinhood is now viewed as a phase the market has moved past.
TradFi is now building far more substantial infrastructure:
RWA market size: Estimates of the liquid RWA market range from $33.5 billion to $60 billion. Net on-chain asset value has reached $38.54 billion, dominated by U.S. Treasuries ($16.16 billion), private credit ($5 billion) and commodities ($4.59 billion). Tokenized stocks and ETFs still account for a modest $1.86 billion, but they are showing the most aggressive growth.
Infrastructure: DTCC is preparing trial trading for July 2026, while NYSE is building infrastructure around its own on-chain settlement platform. Nasdaq and Kraken are targeting a launch by early 2027, catching up with Coinbase, which moved liquidity for its tokenized stocks from Abu Dhabi to Aerodrome back in August.
October 1 checklist: escrow, macroeconomics and a shrinking SEC
The morning market's focus is on the start of the new quarter on October 1, which will reveal the direction of liquidity flows. Related sectors are currently quiet:
AI tokens: The sector, with a market capitalization of $25 billion and represented by NEAR, TAO and RENDER, has entered a local correction. TAO has pulled back to $320.33, while the launch of Bitwise's spot NEAR ETF led to a short-term decline in the underlying asset's price.
SHIB: The meme token is trading at 0.0000057–0.0000058 on thin volumes. It remains a passive, high-beta passenger, while Coinbase Clear's registration with the CFTC shifts regulators' attention toward big business.
Regulatory landscape: It is noticeably shrinking in the U.S. October 2 will be Hester Peirce's last working day at the SEC, after which the Commission will have just two serving members. The GENIUS Act (the stablecoin statute) will remain the primary oversight tool, with the Fed already reshaping issuers' reserves to meet its requirements.
Against this backdrop, tomorrow will be a decisive day for the Ripple ecosystem. Technical analysis helps separate marketing noise from harsh reality.
The main trigger on the first day of the new quarter will be the scheduled release of 1 billion XRP from escrow on October 1. This is a standard calendar mechanism that has been running automatically since 2017.
Most of this volume traditionally returns to the vaults, which currently hold 31.98 billion XRP. The net inflow into the market will be the usual 200–300 million tokens.
This completely rules out a supply shock in the spot market. However, against the backdrop of XRPN's Nasdaq debut, the event will force derivatives traders to keep a close watch.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
