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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 March 11 – March 17

Steve Payne
March 17, 2024
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Three announced crypto M&A transactions this week, including one mega deal.

 

Fintech startup Request Finance of Paris announced the acquisition of Vienna-based cryptocurrency accounting platform Consola Finance.  Request is a Web2/Web3 payments platform, offering crypto or fiat payment tools for accounts payable/receivable and payroll.  They claim $700M+ in payments to date, and have raised $5.5M from investors such as Animoca, Balderton and Sebastien Borget.  Consola has developed cryptocurrency-specific accounting functions, allowing users to upload transactions to accounting systems, and has raised €1.1M.

 

Toronto and New York-based merchant bank/digital assets advisory firm GDA Capital announced the acquisition of Omni3, a digital asset advisory firm based in Singapore.  GDA will use this group as its lead in Asia blockchain and gaming advisory.

 

In by far the largest announced crypto deal of the year, Dallas holding company JBB Advanced Technologies announced it will sell 100 percent of its digital marketing subsidiary Tronic to a new entity called Tronic Ventures, through cash and shares worth $12.250 billion.  Tronic is web3 marketing program provider, offering a range of technologies to support loyalty programs.  Tronic was launched in 2021 and acquired by JBB in January 2023, but we can find no announcement of prior funding or revenues, and Tronic appears to have only 20-30 employees.  Christina Marshall had been the President of JBB and is now head of Tronic Ventures, but we can find no website or funding source for this new spinout and will continue to research further.

 

Events

Architect Partners will be at Digital Asset Summit London (3/18 – 3/20) and the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (3/18-3/22). Please contact elliot@architectpartners.com or arjun@architectpartners.com to meet.