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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

Moonpay Acquires Helio for a Reported $175M

Eric Risley
January 19th, 2025
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Transaction Overview

On January 13, 2025, MoonPay, historically offering fiat to crypto onboarding capabilities, announced its acquisition of Helio, a platform that enables crypto payments for a reported $175M.

 

 

Target: Helio

Helio enables online merchants, applications, and creators to accept payments in over 100 forms of crypto assets. This capability is powered by Helio’s Application Programming Interface (API), native plug-ins, or pay links. Helio can be thought of as the “Stripe for crypto.” Just as Stripe revolutionized fiat payment enablement for online merchants, Helio is following a similar playbook for crypto payments.

 

Helio charges clients between 0.25% and 2.00%, depending on the specific capabilities utilized. The platform integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, Shopify, and Discord, making it easy for businesses on these platforms to offer crypto payment options.

 

The company reports processing over $1.5 billion in annualized transaction volume, serving more than 6,000 sellers, and providing payment options to over 1 million end users. Helio is used across a variety of applications, including Shopify-powered e-commerce sites, decentralized applications (DApps), ticketing, NFTs, and creator communities. Notable clients include Magic Eden, Hivemapper, Solana Labs, Star Atlas, Layer Zero Labs, and Polygon Labs.

 

Founded in 2022 by Stijn Paumen and Jim Walker, Helio is headquartered in London with a team of 20 members. The company raised $3.3 million in a seed round in April 2023 at a $12 million post-money valuation. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Peak, with participation from Droid Capital, Faction Ventures, and other investors.

 

 

Buyer: MoonPay

MoonPay is a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp provider that enables users to buy, sell, and swap cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The company offers on/off-ramp services as an API-integrated solution for businesses and directly to end users through its own non-custodial wallet.

 

MoonPay supports over 110 cryptocurrencies and 30+ fiat payment methods, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, operating in more than 180 countries. To date, MoonPay has facilitated the creation of 20 million accounts and delivered over $6 billion in cryptocurrency.

 

In 2021, MoonPay reported reaching $150 million in annual revenue. The company has been profitable since launching its platform in 2019.

 

Founded in 2019 by Ivan Soto-Wright, Victor Faramond, and Maximilian Crown, MoonPay is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and employs over 300 team members across nine countries. The company was last valued at $3.4 billion following a $555 million Series A round led by Tiger Global and Coatue in April 2022, during the peak of the crypto market prior to the Crypto Winter. Other notable investors include Animoca Brands, Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz, Genesis Accel, Cobalt Capital, WndrCo, and 122 additional backers.

 

 

Transaction Parameters

MoonPay acquired Helio for a reported $175M, with the form of consideration (cash or stock or a combination) being undisclosed.

 

Previous comparable transactions include: Bridge.xyz | Stripe ($1.1B, M&A Alert here), Pay.so | Request Finance, Bit2Pay | MELD, Cryptpay | Hero

 

 

Strategic Rationale

Helio expands the scope of MoonPay’s capabilities to include payments, marking a significant strategic shift.

 

MoonPay has established itself as the largest independent provider of fiat-to-crypto conversion services, supporting a wide range of companies that rely on this fundamental capability to onboard new customers. Notable clients include wallets such as MetaMask and Phantom, as well as exchanges like Uniswap and OpenSea. During the NFT boom of 2021–2022, a significant portion of MoonPay’s business was centered around enabling the creation and purchase of NFTs.

 

While MoonPay Checkout was an early payment product designed to enable credit card transactions, its primary focus was on the NFT ecosystem. Helio complements and significantly extends MoonPay’s payment capabilities, broadening its reach and potential.

 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

Why are crypto payments important?

 

First, while still relatively small, there is a very active and growing economy where crypto serves as the reference currency. For example, NFT and memecoin issuers typically only accept payments in crypto. Ideally, interested buyers can use any form of crypto asset as payment—and many are doing just that. These payments are virtually instant, irreversible (eliminating the possibility of chargebacks), generally low-cost in terms of transaction fees, and operate entirely outside the traditional banking and payment ecosystems.

 

The larger opportunity, estimated at $2.4 trillion annually and gaining momentum, is the use of crypto to pay for mainstream goods and services or to send “money” to friends and family. The core value proposition remains the same: instant, low-cost, and secure transactions. This trend is particularly evident in cross-border B2B payments and remittances, where crypto provides a more efficient alternative to traditional methods.

 

Crypto can also be a preferred form of “currency” for individuals or businesses in certain countries or regions, particularly stablecoins, which function as crypto assets tied to the value of the US dollar. Stablecoins offer a secure and stable store of value in environments with volatile local currencies or economic instability.

 

As more people globally own and use crypto in its various forms, the likelihood of it becoming an accepted method of exchanging value increases.

 

These trends are already underway. Let’s see where they lead.

 

 

Sources 

PitchBook, Helio Press Release, Moonpay Press Release, CoinDesk