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

Insights

Week of August 7 – August 13

Michael S. Klena
August 16, 2023
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

20 Crypto Private Financings Raised ~$65M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $174M

Rolling 52-Month Average: $231M

Segment Overview

August – like July just hotter & more humid (for us in the northern hemisphere).  August so far is as slow as expected with capital flows below average and smaller deal sizes.

 

Selected Highlights 

Moneygram took an investment from Stellar, hitting the tape just yesterday.  Following a commercial working relationship, Stellar’s Foundation head will join Moneygram’s board to help further the digital strategy.  Moneygram is the well known money transfer firm with online and physical locations.  Moneygram was taken private by Madison Dearborn Partners, the large PE firm, in June.  Terms of Stellar’s investment were not disclosed.

  

Why Notable?  Very rare to see a crypto native invest in a notable traditional firm.  The Stellar foundation has sizable assets and using them to cement partnerships is something, as an investment banking firm, we encourage. We may add additional commentary in next week’s snapshot.

 

Helio Protocol raised $10M from Binance Labs.  Helio combines its overcollateralized, decentralized stablecoin (HAY) borrowing and lending on Binance’s BNB chain, with multichain Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS) and Liquid Staking Derivatives Finance (LSDfi). Quite a mouthful of lingo!  The protocol lives in the DeFi space and has nearly $300M in total value locked.  Last month, Helio Protocol also acquired Synclub to boost its staking infrastructure.  

 

Why Notable?  Binance Labs has been on a bit of an investing tear, investing in firms that can propagate its own assets such as the BNB chain. For DeFi, we’re seeing CeFi and TradeFi infrastructure migrate into the DeFi world with its own unique spin.  Managing risk in DeFi continues to be an area with significant room for growth.

 

Cube3 and Spearbit each raised for their seed round.  Cube3 is a Web3 security platform protecting smart contracts from malicious transactions and raised $8.9M with Blockchain Ventures leading.  Spearbit is a marketplace for security experts to advise on Web3 projects and raised $8.3MM with Framework Ventures leading.  

 

Why Notable?  Both are security for Web3, the often hyped concept. Security for this evolving technology is critical for it to mature and be given serious consideration for adoption.  Raising seed rounds of a decent size shows the continued interest in the segment.

 

Patterns  Web3 was a popular sector this week, with a fair number of firms focused on infrastructure stability, from security to data analytics.  These functions are signs of the maturation phase in the typical technology cycle.