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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

Financing

Week of August 11 – August 17

Todd White
August 20, 2025
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August 11 – August 17 (Published August 20th)

PERSPECTIVES by Michael Klena

 

21 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $274.9M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $551.9M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $349.2M

 

Overall, it was a slower week as people take the last of their August summer vacations. We expect the slowdown to continue over the next few weeks, and we hope you can also take time off, recharge, and return with unmatched enthusiasm.

 

Mesh’s $130M financing led the week as a later-stage raise. It is effectively a continuation of the $82M raised in March, with mainly corporate VCs such as Coinbase Ventures, Uphold, Bybit’s venture arm, and PayPal Ventures participating. This likely signals they are users as well as investors. Mesh operates in the relatively hot space of payment orchestration, adding efficiency to the still arduous process of moving money and accepting crypto payments. For example, they provide PayPal users ways to accept crypto payments and convert to fiat, using PayPal’s stablecoin as the means of settlement. PayPal embedding its own stablecoin in the process is a whole topic on its own, but it is a clear example of innovative tools (stablecoins) being integrated into traditional finance (payments).

 

While Mesh is focused on the point-of-sale piece, the entire process requires significant infrastructure to accept and convert payments in minutes. Several firms are building efficiencies across the payment cycle, including Bridge and 1Konto. Many enter the payment flow at different points and then expand to cover more of it. Traditional money movement between institutions remains stuck on legacy technology, with settlement measured in days rather than minutes, and that friction continues to attract challengers.

 

Another deal to note is the $57M raise by 1Kosmos. 1Kosmos operates in the identity and security space. This sector has seen significant hype over the years, with only a few companies gaining real traction in fixing the identity and login process. We believe this market has room to grow beyond niche use cases.