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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

Alerts

Bitcoin Depot Begins Trading On the Nasdaq Exchange

Eric F. Risley
July 10, 2023
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Bitcoin Depot Public Market Overview

Bitcoin Depot, a cryptocurrency ATM network operator, commenced trading on the Nasdaq on July 1st, 2023 under the ticker “BTM”. The company went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), GSR II Meteora (NASDAQ: GSR). 

 

Bitcoin Depot Overview (NASDAQ: BTM)

Bitcoin Depot allows users to convert between fiat and Bitcoin via a network of automated teller machine (ATM) kiosks. The company is the largest operator of Bitcoin ATMs in North America with over 7,000 locations within Circle K convenience stores and independent retailers. 

 

Bitcoin Depot was founded in 2016 by Brandon Mintz, President and CEO, leading the firm’s ~150 employees.

 

Historical Financial Performance

SPAC Merger Timeline

Bitcoin Depot announced the merger with GSR II in August 2022 at a proposed equity value of $885M and an expectation that up to $170M in cash could be on the balance sheet post-close.  This represented an enterprise value of $750M, assuming no redemptions by the providers of the SPACs cash holdings. 

 

Stock Initial Performance 

Bitcoin Depot began trading as a combined company on July 1st, rising to pre-market open highs of $6.60 before closing Friday at $3.23. As of July 7th, the stock was trading at $2.80 resulting in a market capitalization of $167M. 

 

Valuation Multiples

Architect Partners’ Observations 

Bitcoin Depot has built a successful, rapidly growing, and profitable business. Physical fiat cash remains a popular form of payment in the U.S., representing 20% of all consumer payments in 2021 according to the Federal Reserve. Bitcoin Depot and others have built an impressive fiat-to-crypto onramp that physically resides in an ATM machine at the largest chain retailers in the U.S. Why do people buy Bitcoin at retail ATMs? (28% of Bitcoin Depot’s volume comes from retail chains) According to their survey data, the main driver of purchases are to: 1) Send money to others (remittances) 2) Purchase goods online, and 3) As an investment. What is also impressive is that transaction volumes have remained remarkably resilient through “Crypto Winter”, quite the opposite of popular online and mobile options like Coinbase and Kraken. In fact, BTM’s revenue and profits were up, from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023, while Coinbase’s revenue was down 34% over the same period.

 

Despite BTM’s solid growth and profitability, completing its de-SPAC merger with GSR proved to be difficult. SPACs have been out of favor for over a year, as investors have shown skepticism toward all SPAC transactions. This negative sentiment caused GSR and BTM to compromise on several key points to finalize the deal. Specifically, GSR had to invest more money, BTM shareholders (primarily Mintz) sold fewer secondary shares than originally negotiated, the bankers took lower fees, and the stock is trading at very low multiples of revenue and EBITDA. Currently, there are more sellers than buyers of BTM, but we believe that there is a real need and use case for Bitcoin ATMs and that BTM is a growing and profitable leader in the space.

 

Bitcoin Depot De-SPAC Detailed Analysis