ARCHITECT SUCCESSES

SEE ALL
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

Coinbase Announces the Acquisition of Futures Exchange FairX

John Kennick
January 12th, 2025
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

Transaction Overview

On January 12th, 2022, Coinbase announced the acquisition of FairX, a Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registered Designated Contract Market (DCM) offering futures and options. Architect Partners served as the financial advisor for FairX.

 

Target: FairX

FairX operates a regulated futures exchange for retail investors. The company offers 1) a straightforward and retail user-friendly platform 2) discounted fees compared to a traditional futures exchange, 3) retail-focused products requiring less capital, and 4) committed market makers enabling strong liquidity. FairX soft launched in July 2020 and currently offers futures on two indexes: the Bloomberg US Large Cap Index Futures and SuperTech Index Futures, and Micro Crude Oil Futures.

 

Since soft launch, FairX had an average daily volume across its four equity index futures products of about 9,000 trades and has grown to 3,000 retail accounts (as of 11/12/21). Based in Chicago, FairX was founded in 2019 by Neal Brady, CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange ErisX, acquired by CBOE (M&A Alert) last year, Harsha Bhat, CTO and previous SVP/CTO of State Street’s GlobalLink trading platforms, and Chairman Clifford Lewis. FairX raised over $27 million in three funding rounds. Notable investors include Hyde Park Venture Partners, TD Ameritrade, XTX Ventures, Battery Ventures, Limerick Hill, and Virtu Financial.

 

Buyer: Coinbase

Coinbase is a leading crypto-asset investment platform catering to both retail and institutional investors. Historically, Coinbase has built its reputation as an easy-to-use, trusted platform allowing individuals to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Over the past several years, Coinbase has significantly broadened the number of crypto assets it supports and has been aggressively building a sophisticated, institutional-ready set of services such as Coinbase Pro, GDAX, and Coinbase Prime via both internal development and acquisitions. Coinbase can be considered a centralized brokerage firm where the assets of their users are largely held or custodied by Coinbase.

 

Headquartered in San Francisco, Coinbase was founded in June 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. The company has thirty-five million users worldwide, trading a total of $320 billion in digital assets in Q3 2021. Coinbase has raised $547 million in capital from a wide variety of venture capital and growth capital investors, including Andreesen Horowitz (Marc Andreessen), Union Square Ventures (Fred Wilson), Ribbit Capital (Meyer Malka), DFJ Growth (Barry Schuler), IVP (Todd Chaffee) , and Tiger Global Management.

 

Coinbase had their direct listing IPO on April 14th, 2021, and closed their first day of trading at an $86 billion valuation.  Coinbase has a current enterprise valuation of $49 billion and trailing twelve months revenues through September 30, 2021 of $5.4 billion giving them an EV/ TTM revenue multiple of 9.1x. Coinbase has acquired 27 companies since 2018 to expand their technology and market presence in the blockchain space. Key competitors include large exchanges such as Binance, Huobi, Bitfinex, Gemini, and Kraken among others.

 

Transaction Parameters

Coinbase is acquiring FairX for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in Coinbase’s fiscal first quarter.

 

Comparable acquisitions of futures exchanges include ErisX | CBOE Global Markets (ND, M&A Alert), FTX | LedgerX (ND, M&A Alert), Crypto.com | Nadex & The Small Exchange ($216mm), and Deutsche Börse Group | Crypto Finance (~$100mm, M&A Alert). 

 

Strategic Rationale

There are several drivers for this acquisition.  First, FairX provides Coinbase with a crypto derivatives regulatory framework for both retail and institutional investors in the US.  FairX is a CFTC registered DCM, and will be Coinbase’s first entity fully regulated by CFTC (Coinbase applied as a Futures Commission Merchant in November, but has not yet been approved).  Second, it allows simplified access to futures to their sizable retail client base.  Lastly, it furthers Coinbase’s institutional product line.  Institutions need to hedge positions and hedging Bitcoin  or Ethereum is done under the commodity framework in the US.  The DCM allows Coinbase to internalize the trading of futures/options for their Institutional clients. 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

We are seeing a trend of crypto-native firms acquiring regulated entities in order to expand their offering of  sophisticated financial products.  Both retail and institutional clients demand regulatorily compliant solutions, but current regulation is often disjointed as crypto can be an awkward fit for existing regulatory structures.  There has been much discussion regarding a straightforward set of rules for crypto, most likely tweaks to existing frameworks.  Buying regulated entities therefore provides regulatory “insurance” for crypto firms while future regulations are being implemented.  Coinbase has done this in the past, via purchases of three SEC-licensed firms.  FTX’s October 2021 acquisition of LedgerX is another example, absorbing LedgerX’s 3 CFTC licenses of DCM, Swap Execution Facility, and Derivatives Clearing Organization.  We expect this approach to accelerate in the next twelve months as crypto-native firms continue to integrate with traditional financial services.

 

Sources 

Coinbase Website

FairX Website

PitchBook

AP Insights

Coinbase Blog