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

Kasikornbank Acquires Satang Crypto Exchange

Elliot Chun
November 8, 2023
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

Thailand’s Kasikornbank Acquires 97% of Satang Crypto Exchange For $102.8M

Transaction Overview

On October 29, 2023, Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank announced it acquired 97% of the shares of the cryptocurrency trading platform Satang Corporation for $102.8M (3.705B Thai Baht). 

 

Target: Satang Crypto Exchange

Satang Crypto Exchange offers trading for 45 unique cryptocurrencies, HSM-secured custody, staking, and a digital payment platform for utilities and public transportation in Thailand. 

 

Satang holds a Thailand Digital Asset Business License and according to the 2022 trading volume is one of the four largest crypto exchanges in Thailand. In CY2022, Satang’s revenues were $1.7M, and has not disclosed any outside capital raised. Satang’s closest competitors include Bitkub, Bybit, OKX, eToro, Zipmex, and Bitazza. 

 

The company was founded in 2017 in Thailand by Poramin Insom, CEO, and has around 50 employees. 

 

Buyer: Kasikornbank

Kasikorn Bank is the 2nd largest bank in Thailand with roughly 16% market share as of June 2023. Kasikorn focuses primarily on individuals, with services including retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and digital banking. 

 

Kasikorn has been interested in developing its digital asset business for the past two years and set a goal to capture 20% of the cryptocurrency market share in Thailand by the year 2024. To achieve this goal, Kasikorn Bank has been opening new digital asset subsidiaries. In March 2022, Kasikorn registered Orbix Custodian as its new crypto custody unit. Since then, it has opened Orbix Invest as fund management and Orbix Technology to develop blockchain infrastructure. 

 

In September, Kasikorn announced its $100M Web3, FinTech, and AI fund called Kasikorn X Venture Capital (KXVC).

 

Transaction Parameters

Kasikornbank acquired 97% of the shares in Satang for $102.8M with the other 3% of shares still held by Binance. Satang will be rebranded as Orbix. Orbix will include Kasikornbank’s three crypto divisions, Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest, and Orbix Technology.

 

Comparable M&A transactions in the crypto exchange industry include Liquid Group | FTX (ND), Bitex | Huobi (ND), Amber Group | DeCurret, Siam Commercial Bank | Bitkub ($1.05B), DHS Consulting | Allentro ($575M), Exegy | Vela, and SBI Financial Services | B2C2

 

Strategic Rationale

Kasikornbank made a clear promise to investors that they would capture 20% of the crypto market share in Thailand by 2024. The simplest and most effective way to accomplish this is by acquiring a leading crypto exchange as they have done here. Kasikorn now owns a leading local exchange with requisite licenses demonstrating their strong digital asset strategy in full action. 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

Our thesis is simple: the crypto industry will see an increase in bridge M&A transactions (non-crypto companies acquiring a crypto company). 

 

Crypto assets continue their transition from an emerging asset class to a global asset class. Servicing crypto assets, and their owners, has a different set of requirements compared to other traditional asset classes. 

 

Every company in a traditional industry, especially financial services, will have or has already undergone an internal assessment of how they plan to adopt crypto assets. This assessment inevitably includes a Buy vs. Build. vs. Partner vs. Invest.

 

Another theme we see here is regulation clarity driving action. Thailand has specific regulations around cryptocurrency. This gives comfort to TradeFi institutions to become involved since the rules are (relatively) clear.  

 

Exchanges have been the primary onramp into the industry and have the largest number of retail crypto holders. Acquiring an exchange gives immediate scale and can deepen retail relationships into the much-desired “cross-sell” with its in-house products. 

 

Geographically, Thailand ranks in Chainalysis’ Top 10 Countries Adopting Crypto Report. In fact, Southeast Asia has 4 countries in the top 10 with Asia representing 7 of the top 11. These data points support the narrative that crypto is a global asset class with Asia playing a leading role. We expect Bridge M&A activity in the Asia region to increase in 2024 as Financial Services companies execute their “buy” strategies.

 

The valuation of the deal is a bit of a head-scratcher, and we believe the stated price includes significant, undisclosed earn-out based on performance to achieve it. We will update this alert once we uncover more details on this transaction. 

 

Sources 

PitchBook, Satang Financial Statements, Satang Website