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

Laser Digital Acquires Elysium Technology Group

Arjun Mehra & Michael Klena
June 30, 2023
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

Laser Digital Acquires Elysium Technology Group for an undisclosed amount.

Transaction Overview

On June 29th, 2023 Laser Digital announced the acquisition of the post-trade solutions provider for FX & digital assets, Elysium Technology Group. 

 

Target: Elysium Technology Group

Elysium Technology Group provides post-trade solutions for the FX & digital asset industries. Elysium has three core products, including MatchHub, a centralized trading hub using connective software to settle, match, reconcile, and net trades. MatchHub also offers developer tool kits, allowing users to configure the software to their needs. Mission Control is a live, cloud-based dashboard for screening and monitoring digital assets & FX positions with connectivity to over 100 exchanges. The firm also has an enterprise database management platform, RiskDB, that focuses on smoothing post-trade workflows and reducing processing costs. As of 2019, Elysium was processing $30B of trading volume per day for FX assets. 

 

Elysium’s closest competitors include other infrastructure providers in the trade lifecycle for FX and digital assets, such as Osttra, TradeNeXus, GlobalLink, LSEG’s SwapAgent, LCX, CrossTower, BlockFills, KeyRock, Etana, and Paxos’ itBit. 

 

The company was founded in 2007 in Stamford, Connecticut by Chairman Andy Siciliano, Managing Director Ed Mount, and CTO Mark Rosenfeld, Elysium currently has over 20 employees, with offices in Connecticut, Virginia, and Illinois. Elysium was originally formed in 2002 as a private trading firm, growing up to $230M AUM, before the group pivoted into technology solutions in 2007. The firm has no disclosed capital raised to date. 

 

Buyer: Laser Digital 

Laser Digital is the digital asset-focused arm of Nomura, a large Japanese financial institution with $17B in TTM revenue and a $12B market capitalization. Laser Digital offers asset management, liquidity, and market-making solutions to their digital asset clients. In addition, the firm makes venture investments in digital asset-related companies. Laser Digital’s trading solutions (liquidity and market-making) are focused on institutional customers, such as pensions, hedge funds, and family offices.

 

Laser Digital was launched in September 2022 and is led by CEO Jez Mohideen, who previously ran Global Markets EMEA at Nomura, and Executive Chairman Steve Ashley, who was previously the Global Head of the Wholesale Division at Nomura. The firm currently has an estimated 70 employees and is based in Zurich, Switzerland. 

 

This is the first acquisition by Laser Digital, although the group has made minority investments in two digital asset-related firms. 

 

Transaction Parameters

Laser Digital acquired Elysium Technology Group for an undisclosed amount. Elysium will operate as a subsidiary and affiliate of Laser Digital under the name of Elysium LD Technology, Inc. The transaction is expected to close imminently. 

 

Comparable crypto trading infrastructure transactions include Bakkt | Apex Crypto ($200M M&A Alert) Coinbase | FairX ($275M M&A Alert), FTX | Bitvo (ND M&A Alert), Blockchain.com | Altonomy ($250M M&A Alert), Amber Group | DeCurret (ND), DHS Consulting | Allentro ($575M ), Exegy | Vela (ND), and SBI Financial Services | B2C2 (ND).

 

Strategic Rationale

This is a significant announcement that marks Laser Digital’s commitment to FX and digital assets and emphasizes the importance of owning post-trade functionality that can facilitate multiple asset classes. Laser Digital is acquiring a platform that provides “air traffic control” for its capital markets business that includes trade settlement, real-time position reporting, and a securities database with digital asset symbology.

 

As the roles market participants play in digital asset markets continue to evolve (see the separation of exchanges, brokers, and custodians), Laser Digital is positioned as a key FX and digital asset post-trade infrastructure provider with traditional financial institution roots, which is the counterparty profile that institutions want to do business with.

 

Finally, institutional-grade, cross-asset functionality will drive client decision-making, as the demand to participate in digital assets increases. 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

The digital asset post-trade process has not been elegantly solved.  Equities have dominant clearinghouses like DTCC to make the process efficient and the risk well-managed.  Digital asset settlement looks like FX settlement where it is peer-to-peer with its associated higher risk of failure.  We are seeing more firms try to solve this, like the newly announced BitGo Go Network.  Many are offered by a custodian allowing pre-trade credit and net settlement for assets that are under custody. Elysium bridges directly to FX and futures so takes it a step further by allowing cross-asset trade settlement.  

 

All of these settlement solutions need volume and scale.  The winner will not necessarily be the best technology, but the one that can sign up participants and scale the quickest. We see firms continuing to attract M&A interest and capital into this specialized but critical segment.

 

Sources 

PitchBook, Elysium Website, Laser Digital Website, Press Release