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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

Crypto M&A Snapshot

Week of August 7 – August 13

Peter B. Stoneberg
August 13, 2023
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Deutsche Börse Group is acquiring the remaining shares it does not already own of FundsDLT, a blockchain-based platform for fund distribution. The acquisition will make FundsDLT an integral part of Clearstream, Deutsche Börse’s post-trade infrastructure provider. The integration of FundsDLT into Clearstream enables blockchain-based end-to-end fund transactions, backed by Clearstream’s fund processing platform allowing more efficient, scalable and faster fund investing using the power of the blockchain.

 

FundsDLT was started In March 2020 when Deutsche Börse Group joined forces with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Natixis Investment Managers to invest in and further develop FundsDLT as the first platform to carry out fund subscription on blockchain infrastructure. Since then it has been used to successfully distribute funds in several locations across Europe and Asia. The former shareholders Credit Suisse Asset Management together with UBS Asset Management as well as Natixis Investment Managers will remain as clients, helping Clearstream drive the fund distribution use case further.

 

The acquisition is a significant step for Deutsche Börse in its digital transformation strategy. It shows the company’s commitment to using blockchain technology to improve the efficiency and transparency of the fund distribution process. With more than 11,000 employees, Deutsche Borse operates Vestima, the world’s largest fund processing platform which provides order execution, settlement and custody services for more than 230,000 funds. They also own Fund Centre, one of the leading European fund distribution platforms which provides access to over 72,000 funds.  They believe that FundsDLT will streamline a range of repetitive fund operational activities by using blockchain to automate several processes securely.

 

Terms were not disclosed and the acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter 2023 or the first quarter 2024, subject to regulatory approval.