A Protos report says Ripple co-founder and government chairman Chris Larsen stands to wield important affect over Evernorth, an XRP treasury firm headed for a Nasdaq itemizing by way of clean verify agency Armada Acquisition. The report argues that an internet of nonprofit, belief, and Ripple-linked contributions offers Larsen outsized sway whereas creating clear conflicts for potential public shareholders.
On the heart of the story is RippleWorks, the IRS-registered nonprofit Larsen co-founded. In line with the report, RippleWorks invested $500,000 in money plus 211,319,096 XRP into Arrington XRP Capital Fund, LP, the sponsor automobile tied to the Evernorth deal. That funding gave RippleWorks a majority of the fund’s restricted accomplice pursuits, whereas the fund is required to take a position all of RippleWorks’ XRP tokens into Evernorth shares.
Ripple Founder Larsen’s Position
The formal management construction runs by way of Arrington XRP Capital Fund’s basic accomplice, an LLC managed by Michael Arrington. However the submitting described by Protos says that management is constrained by contract. Below an October 17, 2025 settlement, the fund should “seek the advice of with RippleWorks on any choices instantly associated to the disposition or voting of Evernorth Holdings Inc. Inventory” and “to vote such shares as directed by RippleWorks.”
That association is what offers the report its edge. Protos highlights language from the SEC Kind S-4 filed on March 18 that doesn’t mince phrases concerning the misalignment. “The financial pursuits of the Sponsor diverge from the financial pursuits of holders of the Public Shares,” the submitting states. It goes additional: “This construction might create potential conflicts of curiosity between Mr. Larsen’s duties to Ripple, his affect over RippleWorks’ funding in Arrington XRP Capital Fund, and the pursuits of Evernorth Holdings Inc. and its stockholders.”
These issues are amplified by the opposite entities feeding XRP into the transaction. Protos experiences that the Larsen Lam Kids’s The rest Belief will contribute 50 million XRP in alternate for 1,832,454 Evernorth shares, giving Larsen one other line of affect within the soon-to-be-public firm. Ripple itself can be contributing 126,791,458 XRP to the identical deal, that means a nonprofit Larsen co-founded, an organization he co-founded, and a belief tied to his household are all collaborating in the identical Nasdaq-bound construction.
The submitting, as quoted within the report, acknowledges a restrict to Larsen’s direct authority. It says he “doesn’t have direct management over RippleWorks’ voting or funding choices with respect to Arrington XRP Capital Fund.”
But Protos argues that this caveat does little to cut back the broader concern, as a result of Larsen sits on RippleWorks’ board, helped create the nonprofit, and stays government chairman of Ripple.
In one other passage cited by the report, the SEC disclosure says Larsen’s “twin roles and affiliations may give rise to conditions the place his pursuits as an government of Ripple differ from or battle with the pursuits of Armada Acquisition and holders of Armada Acquisition Class A Widespread Inventory.”
The monetary backdrop makes the governance query extra putting. IRS filings cited by Protos present RippleWorks held $1.4 billion in property for fiscal 12 months 2024. The report says Larsen contributed most of these property, and that 89% of RippleWorks’ income in 2024 got here from promoting a few of them. It additionally notes that CEO Doug Galen earned $845,945 that 12 months, whereas Larsen was listed as secretary/treasurer with zero compensation.
Protos additionally factors to deal phrases that would additional profit RippleWorks and Ripple if XRP rises earlier than closing. Below a closing adjustment, each can obtain bonus shares in Evernorth if the token appreciates, whereas nonetheless retaining shares priced on mounted contractual phrases even when XRP doesn’t rally. That asymmetry is central to the report’s thesis: Larsen-linked entities could also be positioned to seize upside in a public-market automobile whereas unusual shareholders take up a governance construction already flagged within the filings themselves.
At press time, XRP traded at $1.45.
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