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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

Insights

Private Financing Snapshot (Week of October 13 – October 19)

Steve Payne
October 25, 2025
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October 13 – October 19 (Published October 25th)

PERSPECTIVES by Steve Payne

 

44 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $875.1M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $473.5M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $397.7M

 

Another big week for crypto financings, with strong participation from “trad” investors, signaling maturation and a welcome shift beyond speculative use cases.

 

Two transactions are worth noting in particular this week:

 

First, Tempo raised $500M in a Series A at a $5B valuation to build next-gen payment infrastructure. Tempo’s website defines its objective well: “Why create a new blockchain? Stablecoins enable instant, borderless, programmable transactions, but current blockchain infrastructure isn’t designed for them: existing systems are either fully general or trading-focused. Tempo is a blockchain designed and built for real-world payments.” It also highlights a unique aspect: its backers — “Tempo was started by Stripe and Paradigm, with design input from Anthropic, Coupang, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, Nubank, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, Visa, and more.” The round was led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Ron Conway’s SV Angel. Architect has discussed the massive opportunity for blockchain in payments in recent reports (Part I, Part II,  Part III). Stablecoins are the rails here, and a half-billion-dollar raise for a new consortium-driven Layer-1 indicates the magnitude of what’s at stake.

 

Speaking of stake, the second notable financing was Jito Labs’ $50M raise led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto) for Jito’s native tokens. Jito is a Solana-based staking protocol that enables users to stake SOL and receive JitoSOL, a liquid staking token that earns both staking yield and additional MEV rewards. MEV (maximum extractable value) is a premium earned by validators for reordering or bundling transactions; in effect, it is a share of the value obtained by network users for putting certain transactions ahead of others (think of it as a toll for driving in the fast lane). This investment underscores continued support for Solana from top crypto investors and highlights a way to maximize yield from providing infrastructure services.