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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 15 – December 21)

Eric F. Risley
December 21, 2025
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December 15th – December 21st

PERSPECTIVES by Eric F. Risley 

 

This week, industry leaders Anchorage Digital and Circle demonstrated steps in their strategy evolution.

 

Anchorage acquired Hedgey Finance and what was billed as the “Securitize for Advisors” business unit from Securitize. Hedgey offers software that manages token allocations, distributions, and vesting for token issuers, similar to “cap table management” software for shareholder equity. Securitize for Advisors helps registered investment advisers (RIAs) manage their clients’ crypto investing activities. Anchorage and Securitize also had a pre-existing partnership relating to RIAs, which was announced in early 2024. Together, these moves demonstrate Anchorage’s strategy of offering a wide variety of products and services to institutional crypto investors, far beyond its historical focus on custody.

 

Circle acquired the team and technology of Interop Labs, which has been a key contributor to the Axelar Network, offering cross-blockchain messaging and token transfer capabilities. This supports Circle’s new Layer 1 (L1) blockchain strategy for ARC. Circle intends to make ARC a leading L1 blockchain, rather than continuing to rely on the roughly 30 existing L1 blockchains where Circle currently issues USDC natively. This strategy reflects the view that a multi-chain environment will likely persist for some time, making interoperability critical.

 

With 2025 coming to a close, it is time to pull back from weekly activity and assess the bigger picture. Look for our 2025 Year-End Crypto M&A and Financing Report in the first week of January.