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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 18 – August 24

Todd White
August 28, 2025
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August 18 – August 24 (Published August 28th)

PERSPECTIVES by Todd White

 

21 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $129.4M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $439.7M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $348.2M

 

There is a growing cadre of blockchain-enabled climate initiatives. Many leverage blockchain technology to enhance transparency, efficiency, and trust in climate-action domains—particularly carbon markets and climate finance—and are beginning to advance beyond pilot stages. Some examples include: KlimaDAO’s use of smart contracts and tokenization to make carbon-credit offsetting more accessible and efficient through fractionalization; Power Ledger’s focus on peer-to-peer energy trading and decentralized solar-energy sales; Net Zero Company’s issuance of tokenized carbon credits backed by transparent and verified carbon capture; and Triangle Digital’s digital-finance platform to fund and manage climate and infrastructure assets with real-time data, liquidity creation, and regulatory compliance.

 

Plural Energy has also emerged as an innovative player in the sector. Founded in early 2023 as an on-chain investing platform, the San Francisco-based team focuses on enabling broader access to investment opportunities traditionally limited to large infrastructure funds. They offer tokenized investment opportunities in renewable-energy projects and a platform that enables direct investment in solar and other renewables while maintaining regulatory compliance through partnerships with SEC-registered broker-dealers and KYC/AML technology.

 

The team raised $12.8M in a seed round on August 20, 2025, led by Compound and Necessary Ventures. This follows a $2.3M pre-seed financing in May 2024. The funding will support enhanced investment analytics, multi-currency distribution options, investor-voting features, and the integration of debt markets.

 

Blockchain’s potential to reshape climate finance, through immutable carbon registries, tokenized instruments, and new financing models, shows promise but remains nascent. There is substantial room for development, and current trends center on ecosystem interoperability, AI integration, global standards for carbon credits, and novel financial instruments. We are encouraged by investor support for teams such as Plural’s and are actively monitoring developments as the subsector evolves.