Moves to broaden institutional investment around XRP are continuing. As Evernode Holdings, which holds a large amount of XRP, nears a Nasdaq listing, attention is also turning to the possibility of new cooperation after Caroline Pham, CEO of MoonPay’s institutional business, released a photo taken at a Ripple office.

On Oct. 6, local time, the blockchain outlet U.Today reported that Evernode has completed shareholder approval for its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp II and is due to start trading on Nasdaq on Oct. 8 under the ticker XRPN. Evernode is promoting an XRP-focused treasury strategy, holding 473 million XRP and $300 million in cash. Shareholders approved the merger with 20.5 million shares in favour and 1.4 million against.

Expectations are growing that institutional investors could gain easier access to XRP, as a company that has directly added XRP to its financial statements enters U.S. stock markets. Grayscale Investments has also adjusted the operating structure of its XRP trust and added Anchorage Digital Bank as an additional custodian. It strengthened institutional custody infrastructure alongside its existing primary custodian, Coinbase. With a creation and redemption method using actual XRP rather than cash, institutions are also expected to see improved liquidity.

Against that backdrop, Pham’s visit to Ripple also drew attention from the XRP community. The blockchain outlet Decrypt reported that Pham posted a selfie taken in front of the Ripple logo and added only an eyes emoji, without further explanation. Pham also visited Ripple in 2022 while serving as acting chair of the CFTC.

The post immediately prompted speculation among XRP supporters. Some users suggested there might be moves linking Ripple, MoonPay and XRP. XRP commentator BankXRP wrote, "Slowly, and then all at once. Something big is coming," and XRPL developer Bird wrote, "All eyes are on Ripple." Influencer Xype also responded, "Something big is being prepared behind the door."

Others voiced caution against excessive expectations. Some followers questioned whether the post had any real meaning. One user wrote, "Please don’t make us get our hopes up over nothing," while another wrote, "It’s just another tease and the price doesn’t move." The reaction was that a single photo cannot confirm actual business cooperation or a product launch.

Pham is currently leading MoonPay’s institutional business, and both MoonPay and Ripple are expanding institutional digital-asset infrastructure and payments businesses. The market is speculating about possible cooperation between the two companies, but there has been no official announcement so far on any new partnership or product launch. Some also urged caution, saying it is difficult to conclude there is actual cooperation based on a single photo.

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem is also expanding its foundations for institutional use. Ripple President Monica Long (모니카 롱) said that XRPL-based real-world asset tokenisation has grown to $2.5 billion, and that permission delegation and batch functions that can process transactions in bundles are also set to be applied.

Investor sentiment across the broader cryptocurrency market remains defensive. Bitcoin repeatedly failed to break through the $87,200 to $87,400 resistance range and slipped to $85,600, while net outflows continued from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs. Even so, as XRP’s listing, custody and tokenisation infrastructure expands at the same time, attention is focusing on whether XRP’s areas of use will broaden, centred on the institutional market.

https://t.co/foAezEo7lH