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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

Crypto M&A Snapshot

Crypto M&A Snapshot (Week of December 08 – December 14)

Eric F. Risley
December 14, 2025
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December 8th – December 14th

PERSPECTIVES by Eric F. Risley 

 

The past two months have been challenging from a crypto asset price performance perspective. Since its October 6, 2025 high of $124,752, Bitcoin is down 28.7%, and the DeFi Pulse Index has dropped by 40.4% over this same time period.

 

Has this challenging market adversely impacted crypto M&A? Resoundingly no.

 

M&A certainly has its own cycles, however, we are experiencing a continuation of a trend that began in earnest in late 2024: a strategic imperative to build, sometimes using M&A as a powerful tool. In fact, the number, quality, and geographic diversity of acquirers has increased substantially. Perhaps most notably, traditional financial services firms of all forms are increasingly active, unlocking an area of demand that dwarfs the crypto industry itself.

 

Part of this strategic imperative is driven by the solidification of acceptance that crypto assets, in their varying forms, represent a legitimate, institutionally acceptable, and scaled asset class. Look no further than the proliferation of ETFs and the offering of direct Bitcoin and Ethereum access by traditional firms like Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and WisdomTree.

 

A second, even more profoundly impactful potential is tokenization. Yes, this is a decade-old idea that has disappointed more often than not, but it is proving to be changing quickly. Leaders like Figure have proven a value proposition that goes far beyond a tokenized version of a security. Simply put, the origination, distribution, and trading of financial instruments can deliver many benefits, albeit ones that are not yet fully realized.

 

Third, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) experiments are demonstrating that individuals and institutions can successfully interact directly via software to create markets at scale. Decentralized exchanges now represent 21% of all spot crypto trading volume, and borrow/lending platforms like Aave have over $22B in outstanding loans. While these remain more “experimental,” time will offer the necessary stress testing, which promises to allow their elevation into long-term viable financial markets.

 

Lastly, payments are in the early stages of embracing a fundamental recasting of the core rails, as articulated very well by Kyle Samani at Mulitcoin this week.

 

M&A is just getting started.