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Swyftx Acquires Caleb & Brown
Swyftx Acquires Caleb & Brown

Transaction Overview

On July 1st, 2025, Swyftx, one of the largest Australian cryptocurrency exchanges, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Caleb & Brown, a high-net-worth-focused crypto brokerage, for an undisclosed amount.

 

Target: Caleb & Brown

Caleb and Brown is a Melbourne-based, high net worth focused crypto brokerage that specializes in personalized trading services across the digital asset landscape. Caleb & Brown focuses on the relationship model used successfully across traditional  financial services – every client that comes onto their platform gets assigned a broker to assist them in executing trades  and handling all customer service needs. Caleb and Brown’s core services include 1) Brokerage Services, which provide personalized 24/7 trading support for 250+ digital assets, 2) an OTC Desk, which provides high volume trading solutions with deep liquidity and competitive pricing, 3) the Caleb and Brown Asset Management, an actively managed crypto asset fund for accredited investor, 4) crypto custody. 

 

The business has more than AUD $2 billion of digital assets under custody and was founded by Rupert Hackett and Dr. Prash Puspanathan in 2016. C&B is led by CEO Jackson Zeng and has 64 team members across both Australia and the US. Caleb & Brown has not raised any outside capital. 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

Architect Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Caleb & Brown. 

 

Swyftx’s acquisition of Caleb & Brown marks the largest acquisition targeting high net worth crypto investors. It also reflects two important shifts in the evolution of crypto exchanges, particularly within the ANZ region.

 

First, high-net-worth client service is becoming a strategic differentiator. Exchanges are beginning to recognize that personalized brokerage and deep client relationships offer a competitive advantage while greatly reducing attrition. This is a model that high-net-worth clients are accustomed to in their financial lives. Caleb & Brown’s approach, which assigns a dedicated broker to every client, stands apart from the high-volume, low-touch models that dominate the market. Swyftx gains access not only to clients but also to an established business model that emphasizes trust, service, and retention in a way few crypto exchanges have pursued.

 

Second, this is a milestone moment for ANZ crypto M&A. While there have been many plays for global expansion by exchanges, this is the first of its kind in Australia moving into the US, signaling that the region is entering a more active phase of market maturity. 

 

We believe this transaction will serve as a catalyst for further strategic activity to expand globally and to augment services as companies seek differentiation in both product and customer segments.

 

Strategic Rationale

Swyftx is acquiring Caleb & Brown to expand into the United States via C&B’s regulatory framework, and to acquire the relationship model inherently required with a higher-tier customer base. This acquisition will grant Swyftx entry into the U.S. 12 to 24 months faster than otherwise possible organically. Furthermore, the acquisition diversifies Swyftx’s primarily retail client base to include 25k+ high net worth individuals in numerous countries. 

 

“Caleb & Brown has quietly established one of the most impressive brokerage offerings in the world, with a heavily differentiated private client service. We see enormous growth potential.” – Jason Titman

Uncategorized

Alchemy Acquires Bware Labs for an Undisclosed Amount

Steve Payne
September 1st, 2024
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Transaction Overview

On August 29, 2024, Web3 development platform Alchemy announced its acquisition of Bware Labs, also a Web3 development platform that provides blockchain infrastructure and API services, for an undisclosed amount. 

 

Target: Bware Labs

Bware Labs is a Web3 infrastructure company that supports over thirty blockchain networks and operates more than 44 validators. The company serves over 100 enterprise customers, including CoinGecko, Fantom, and Connext. Bware Labs has formed strategic partnerships with leading blockchain projects such as Avalanche, Polygon, and Astar.

 

The company’s key offerings include the Blast API, which connects developers to 101 networks and 48 chains, along with various validator and bridging services, faucet connections, and governance proposals. Other offerings include App Chains, an application-specific blockchain that allows developers to specify their projects’ economies, governance, and consensus algorithms through features such as Enterprise Validator, dedicated RPC endpoints, and indexing.

 

In 2023, Bware Labs launched the $INFRA token.. The fully diluted market cap of $INFRA as of 9/1/2024 was $21.8M and the total circulating supply of 100M. Key allocations include 12.2M for the seed round, 12M for a Series A round, 20M for treasury, and 25M for protocol incentives. 

 

Bware Labs was founded in Romania in 2021 by Flavian Manea, Alexandru Minulescu, Matei Popp, and Radu Enoiu, and now has over 45 employees, mostly developers/engineers. The company raised a total of $6.9M in token and equity funding, with $900K in a Seed round led by Ascensive Assets and $6M in a Series A round with investors such as The Spartan Group, Woodstock Fund, Nexo, and Nabais Capital. Bware was last valued at $50M post-money in their Series A.

 

Buyer: Alchemy 

Alchemy is a Web3 development platform that provides blockchain infrastructure and tools, such as APIs, SDKs, and node management, to support the development of decentralized applications across multiple blockchains. Alchemy has facilitated over $100 billion in on-chain transaction volume, paid $1.5 billion in royalties to NFT creators, has had over 100 million end users, and supports projects such as OpenSea, Axie Infinity, Polygon, and WorldCoin.

 

Their main offerings include APIs that support tokens, NFTs, transactions, and Web3 development for developers and infrastructure for rollups, integrations, and subgraphs for various blockchains. The company supports enterprise, NFT, gaming, and DeFi projects. 

 

Alchemy was founded in 2013 by Nikil Viswanathan and Joe Lau and now has over 280 employees. The company has raised $564M over five funding rounds in April 2019, December 2019, April 2021, October 2021, and February 2022, from lead investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Silver Lake, a16z, Coatue, and Addition, as well as angel investors like Peter Thiel, Will Smith, and Reid Hoffman. Alchemy was valued at $10.2B post-money in their last funding round.

 

Transaction Parameters

Alchemy agreed to acquire Bware for an undisclosed amount but revealed that it is their largest acquisition to date, increasing their headcount by 25%.

 

Alchemy has announced it will not take over Bware’s INFRA protocol and Bware announced that it will be stepping away from its role as a core contributor to the technology supported by the $INFRA token. 

 

Strategic Rationale

Alchemy’s acquisition of Bware Labs aims to enhance its blockchain infrastructure and expand globally. By integrating Bware Labs’ Blast API and decentralized infrastructure, Alchemy strengthens its platform and broadens its customer base through Bware’s existing partnerships with major blockchain networks like Polygon and Avalanche. Furthermore, the acquisition provides a path for Alchemy’s expansion into Europe. Bware’s presence in Europe, which is leading in crypto regulation via its MiCA rules, also offers a gateway to entry into other markets in the region.

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

This transaction makes strategic sense for Alchemy.  And as a leader in Web3 infrastructure with players like Consensys it has the capacity to start filling in holes in its delivery capabilities.

 

The Web2 hyperscalers all currently offer some Web3 infrastructure to  developers (usually covering only a handful of chains), and we expect to see them more active in M&A as demand for Web3 grows.