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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

Week of April 15 – April 21

Glenn Gottlieb
April 24, 2024
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43 Crypto Private Financings Raised ~$126M 

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $245M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $183M

 

Tokenization of real-world assets is a process that involves converting physical assets, such as real estate, art, or commodities, into digital tokens on a blockchain. These tokens represent ownership or a share in the asset and can be bought, sold, or traded. This process enhances liquidity, accessibility, and efficiency in traditionally illiquid markets.

 

The market for tokenized real world assets (“RWA”) is expected to grow significantly with a total market value of tokenized assets expected to significantly exceed $16 trillion by 2030 according to some reports.

 

There are many leading DeFi platforms supporting RWA tokenization.   Centrifuge has taken a slightly different approach than most by serving as a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi and bringing non-crypto asset structured credit markets to DeFi.   Centrifuge allows borrowers to tokenize RWA and use them as collateral to secure financing in a cost-effective and fully transparent manner to connect borrowers with investors.  

 

Last week, Centrifuge announced a $15M Series A funding round led by ParaFi Capital and Greenfield.  Additional investors included Arrington Capital, Bloccelerate, Borderless Capital, Circle Ventures, Edessa Capital, Gnosis, IOSG Ventures, Modular Capital, ProtoCap, Re7 Capital, Scytale Digital, Skynet Trading, Stake Capital, The Spartan Group, TRGC and Wintermute Ventures.

 

The funds will be used to scale and expand the business.   Centrifuge is also planning an institutional-grade lending market for RWAs, built on Base and integrated with Coinbase Verification. These integrations will allow institutions to quickly and safely participate with real-world assets.

 

Continued funding of tokenization of RWA is critical for economic activity going forward, as it democratizes investment, enhances liquidity, drives efficiency and transparency across diverse asset classes, and creates avenues for innovation to rethink certain financial markets.