ARCHITECT SUCCESSES

SEE ALL
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

Crypto M&A Snapshot

Week of August 19 – August 25

Eric F. Risley
August 25, 2024
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

Bitcoin miners are in the midst of a consolidation phase, triggered by the recent halving.  The strategic driver is to secure large and scalable datacenter capacity with access to low cost power and capital, all made easier as a company gets larger. This week Bitfarms announced the acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining for $175M in enterprise value, in all stock. This purchase price represents a premium of 71% over the pre-announcement price.  The Architect Partners M&A Alert, which shares details of the transaction, is published here.

 

This transaction is notable as Bitfarms was subject to an unsolicited acquisition offer from Riot Platforms in late May and since then Riot has acquired 19% of Bitfarms equity in the open market, waging a public relations effort seeking to replace management and has engaged in proxy battle to replace two board members. 

 

Sometimes the best defense is offense. In this case, Bitfarms has announced the acquisition of Stronghold, along with management and board of director changes.  Hostile M&A is tricky and can have unintended consequences as is likely the case from Riot’s perspective here. As a rule, hostile acquisitions are anathema to businesses that rely on the talent of people, which makes them very unusual in technology and financial services businesses.  However, Bitcoin mining is very different where physical facilities with access to electricity and widely available computing equipment are the core assets.

 

The irony of this consolidation phase is that Satoshi Nakamoto’s initial vision was that anyone and everyone with interest could set up a computer to mine Bitcoin.  Everyone could run the Bitcoin network and no one would control a major proportion of the “hashrate”.  This is fundamental to the design and ensures that the blockchain is a consensus of many, not a few.  The implication of mining concentration remains to be seen, however, some like Jack Dorsey and Block, are seeking to reverse this concentration, building semiconductors and systems to support a return to mining decentralization.