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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

Insights

Week of March 03 – March 09

Todd White
March 12, 2025
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

March 03 – March 09 (Published March 12th)

PERSPECTIVES by Todd White

 

26 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $437.1M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $197.5M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $211.6M

 

We believe four foundational factors are useful signals for assessing the innovation and maturation of emerging technologies: capital invested, number of users, value created, and corporate strategy enacted through M&A. In our “Family Ties” series, first published in January 2024 (here) and updated last month (here), we use these factors to compare the Internet and Crypto to reveal some striking conclusions. For example, we found that in 2024, the value created in the Crypto sector surpassed that of the Internet at the same stage in its respective life cycle—an exciting and potentially “breakout” moment for investors.

 

However, other factors continue to lag, most notably the number of users. There are, of course, myriad causes for this dearth of “useful things” beyond pure speculation. But the difficulty in transitioning practical everyday applications from Web2 to Web3 is likely high on anyone’s list.

 

The truth is that Crypto and blockchain present businesses with a thorny mix of technical, regulatory, and user-centric challenges to adoption. Chief among them is the sheer complexity of blockchain and dApps, which often requires specialized expertise and a steep learning curve, with both time and financial investments that can exceed the means of many businesses. Technical limitations, such as slower processing speeds and high transaction cost, also constrain scalability and adoption.

 

Regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the U.S., has created (unnecessary?) compliance risks and strategic hesitancy. While this may now be changing, the need to navigate unclear legal frameworks has complicated long-term business planning and adoption. The lack of intuitive user interfaces, closely tied to the technical challenges above, remains a persistent hindrance. The need to manage wallets, transaction fees, and blockchain interactions must be simplified to drive broader acceptance among non-technical users. Interoperability across chains and integration with legacy Web2 systems is another persistent challenge. The risk of disrupting critical workflows can incite caution and even fear of destabilizing core models for early movers seeking to adopt untested Web3 strategies.

 

Endless is a cloud-based protocol designed to simplify the transition to the Web3 world of decentralized blockchain technologies. Their platform combines essential Web3 components, such as blockchain networks, data storage, and messaging, with an AI agent toolchain and a simplified interface tailored for developers familiar with traditional web programming. Their goal is to accelerate adoption by lowering the technical barriers to entry for mainstream developers and businesses, with a system designed to handle large numbers of transactions quickly and at low cost.

 

Our analysis suggests this work is sorely needed. And investors seem to agree, supporting Endless this week with a $110 million funding round at a $1 billion project valuation. Now let us see if that elusive cohort of inchoate Web3 users agrees.

 

Contact ryan@architectpartners.com to schedule a meeting.