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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

Figure Technology Solutions to Merge with Figure Markets

Eric Risley
July 20th, 2025
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Transaction Overview

On July 17, 2025, Figure Technology Solutions (“Figure”) announced a definitive agreement to merge with Figure Markets. The combined company will operate under the Figure Technology Solutions name. The merger brings together Figure’s established consumer lending and securitization platform with Figure Markets’ crypto exchange. Financial terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed.

 

Target: Figure Markets

Figure Markets is a digital asset exchange launched in 2024 as a spin-off from Figure Technologies. At launch, the company raised $60 million in a Series A round led by Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, and Lightspeed Faction. Figure Markets’ vision is to build a single platform for trading a wide range of blockchain-native assets. The company operates a crypto exchange, a blockchain-based securities marketplace, offers crypto-backed lending, and issues a yield-bearing stablecoin (YLDS)—all running on the Provenance blockchain.

 

Figure Markets’ competitors span both traditional crypto exchanges and emerging digital securities platforms. These include crypto trading firms like Coinbase and Kraken, as well as tokenized securities venues such as Securitize and tZERO.

 

Buyer: Figure Technology Solutions

Figure Technology Solutions, founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney (former CEO of SoFi), brings lending and capital markets onto blockchain rails. The company’s core business, often referred to as Figure Connect, is a consumer credit and loan marketplace that originates and tokenizes assets, predominantly home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), mortgages, and other consumer loans, on the public Provenance Blockchain. More than 175 partner lenders use Figure’s platform to produce standardized, blockchain-recorded loan assets, which are then sold and traded in a deep secondary marketplace.

 

Since its inception, Figure has funded over $16 billion in loans, making it the largest non-bank originator of HELOCs in the U.S. and capturing a growing share of the $35 trillion U.S. home equity market. The company connects loan originators with institutional buyers through a highly liquid, tokenized private loan market. Its technology enables near-instant loan approval and efficient securitization.

 

Through its subsidiaries, Figure also offers consumer-facing lending products, including HELOCs, mortgage refinancing, and crypto-backed loans, delivered through a fully digital process.

 

In 2024, Figure Technology generated $339 million in adjusted net revenue, reflecting more than 60% year-over-year growth, and achieved Adjusted EBITDA margins exceeding 30%.

 

The company’s last major financing was a Series D in September 2021, raising $200 million at a $3.2 billion post-money valuation. That round was led by 10T Holdings and Morgan Creek Digital Assets. Other major investors include Temerity Capital Partners, Baseline Ventures, DCM Ventures, and RPM Ventures. While Figure initially planned to go public in November 2023, the IPO was subsequently canceled.

 

Key competitors include 1X, Amount, Percent, Hometap, and Liquid Mortgage, as well as traditional HELOC lenders such as SoFi, Rocket Mortgage, LoanDepot, and Better.com.

 

Transaction Parameters

The agreement received unanimous board approval and is expected to close in Q3 2025, pending customary shareholder and regulatory approvals. Following the close, Michael Tannenbaum will remain CEO and Mike Cagney will serve as Executive Chairman, unifying the investor bases and positioning the firm for a potential future public listing.

 

Comparable previous transactions include: Swyftx | Caleb & Brown (M&A Alert), Robinhood | WonderFi (M&A Alert), Ripple | Hidden Road (M&A Alert),  Coinbase | Deribit (M&A Alert), Securitize | Pacific Stock Transfer.

 

Strategic Rationale

The merger will create a single, end-to-end platform capable of originating consumer loans, tokenizing them on the Provenance Blockchain, and trading those assets on Figure’s marketplace. It cements Figure’s leadership in digital assets while combining engineering and compliance talent to accelerate new product development.

 

Bringing both businesses under one roof also unifies Figure’s extensive U.S. lending licenses with Figure Markets’ SEC-registered digital asset framework and offshore exchange structure, strengthening regulatory coverage and simplifying oversight.

 

The timing enables Figure to capitalize on surging institutional demand for tokenized assets, positioning the combined firm for global expansion and a potential public listing as market sentiment toward crypto continues to improve.

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

This merger marks a reversal of the March 2024 spin-off of Figure Markets from Figure Technology Solutions. At the time, separating the two businesses helped insulate Figure Technology from the negative stigma surrounding crypto in the aftermath of the FTX collapse.

 

Despite the separation, the two entities have always shared the same founder and a unified vision for digital assets, specifically that securities will rapidly transition to digital form through tokenization and become mainstream. Figure Technology’s HELOC offering has already demonstrated the value of this model in practice.

 

Figure is widely regarded as the leading innovator in tokenizing real-world assets, applying the core innovations of crypto to unlock access to the $35 trillion U.S. home equity market. While tokenized dollars in the form of stablecoins have captured most of the headlines, tokenizing securities and building the supporting infrastructure may prove to be an equally significant or even greater opportunity.

 

Sources 

Figure Press Release, Figure Markets Newsroom,  Figure Markets Press Release, CB Insights, Linkedin, Housing Wire, Axios