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

INSIGHTS

Architect brings an informed perspective backed by hard-earned lessons from the early years of tech, crypto, and fintech.

How did Architect become the go-to firm for crypto and fintech? By building relationships with leading entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate partners, by executing marquee transactions in the sector, and by constant research and publishing. We don’t have a content authoring department–every member of the team is responsible for analyzing key transactions and sharing our insights on industry dynamics. To date we’ve published over 400 M&A Alerts and Ecosystem Insights, all openly shared on our site and via email.

Created with Pixso.
  • M&A Snapshots Insights M&A
    November 23, 2025 Crypto M&A Snapshot (Week of November 17 – November 23)
  • Financing Financing Snapshots Insights
    November 20, 2025 Private Financing Snapshot (Week of November 10 – November 16)

    Private Financing Snapshot (Week of November 10 – November 16)

    Steve Payne
    November 20, 2025
    DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

    November 10 – November 16 (Published November 20th)

    PERSPECTIVES by Steve Payne

     

    22 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $172.4M

    Rolling 3-Month-Average: $633.0M 

    Rolling 52-Week Average: $479.8M

     

    Looking at the numbers above, both deal count and announced capital raised dropped significantly last week. Some may think this is a function of the recent tumble in crypto prices (BTC is down roughly 30 percent from its 2025 high just six weeks ago). But note that these investments were greenlighted and negotiated weeks or months ago. It remains to be seen how deal activity and valuations will be affected in the next few months if crypto prices stay depressed. We have already heard of some deals being canceled due to market uncertainty, so stay tuned.

     

    In the largest financing last week, Lighter raised $68M in equity and token warrants at a post-money valuation that Fortune reports at about $1.5B. Lighter operates both a DEX and an Ethereum Layer 2 network. It supports, and is best known for, perpetual futures contracts (“perps”), which allow traders to take long or short positions without expiration. Lighter states that its Layer 2 infrastructure is intended to minimize gas fees, enable instant settlements, and provide auditable proof of every trade.

     

    Several aspects of this deal are notable:

     

    • Lighter’s CEO, Vladimir Novakovski, entered Harvard at age 16 and joined Citadel at age 18. He is a serial entrepreneur and, in an interesting twist on the current trend, pivoted from AI back to crypto instead of vice versa.

     

    • Lighter is already one of the top five Ethereum L2s, with more than $1.1B in TVL. It competes in the DEX perp market with Hyperliquid, which has its own L1 and has recently filed to raise up to $1 billion in connection with a SPAC merger involving Rorschach I LLC. According to data reported by The Block, perpetuals now make up roughly three quarters of total CEX trading volume, with nearly $49 trillion in notional traded, compared with about $14.8 trillion for spot and $1.3 trillion for options. Binance and OKX are leaders on the CEX side.

     

    • The investor set here is quite strong: Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital led this fundraising, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood. Dragonfly, Haun Ventures, Craft Ventures, and Robot Ventures reportedly participated in a smaller prior round.

     

  • M&A Snapshots Insights M&A
    November 16, 2025 Crypto M&A Snapshot (Week of November 10 – November 16)
CRYPTO PRIVATE FINANCING
CHART TWO TITLE