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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 22 – April 28

Glenn Gottlieb
May 1, 2024
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25 Crypto Private Financings Raised ~$209M 

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $260M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $193M

 

Facebook envisioned Diem, its stablecoin, as part of a larger project involving Move, a programming language for creating secure financial applications.  Diem aimed to be a stable, reliable cryptocurrency for global transactions. Facebook hoped users could send and receive Diem across its platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.) for things like paying friends or online purchases.  Move would act as the secure foundation for building applications on the Diem blockchain.  Move’s focus on safety aimed to ensure the smooth operation of Diem transactions and prevent errors or hacks.   Diem ran into regulatory hurdles and Architect Partners managed the sale of Diem to Silvergate Bank.

 

What has happened to Move since Diem’s end?

 

Move’s focus on security was the basis for the creation of the Sui and Aptos blockchains, both developed by ex-Facebook employees who were aware of Move’s benefits.  However, many thought the security benefits of Move would be valuable to a much broader audience.     

  

Movement Labs is creating Move-based platforms for broader utilization by delivering modular move-based blockchains starting with M2, a Move Virtual Machine L2 for Ethereum.  The focus of these Move Virtual Machines is solving security concerns surrounding smart contract vulnerabilities, improving the developer experience, as well as enabling additional advancements.  Movement Labs will also be offering Move Stack, which will allow the Move Virtual Machines to be available on multiple blockchains.  

 

The potential of Move, along with Movement Labs’ proven advancements, was the investment thesis behind a $38M Series A in Movement Labs led by Polychain Capital with participation from Hack VC, Placeholder, Archetype, Maven 11, Robot Ventures, Figment Capital, Nomad Capital, Bankless Ventures, OKX Ventures, dao5, and Aptos Labs.

 

Movement Labs’ solutions are still under development, and its long-term performance remains to be seen. However, its design holds promise for achieving scalability and security in blockchain applications.