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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 31 – April 06

Eric F. Risley
April 06, 2025
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March 31st – April 6th

PERSPECTIVES by Eric F. Risley 

 

Strong week with nine crypto M&A transactions announced, but let’s talk about the big impact items of the week.

 

Circle’s IPO S-1 became public on Tuesday, April 1. Circle’s success is a particularly important milestone for several reasons.

 

First, Circle is all about payments, perfectly aligned with bitcoin’s founding intent as stated in the first line of the abstract: “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Payments are the second fastest-growing commercial use case for crypto.

 

Second, demonstrating the unpredictable nature of how markets evolve, Circle is intricately intertwined with the same financial institutions which were to be avoided. Every USDC stablecoin issued triggers the purchase, using US dollars, of an equivalent value of US Treasury bills through traditional financial institutions. This has lent legitimacy to crypto, and the IPO filing demonstrates that groups like the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Congress, and the Executive Branch are offering tacit approval.

 

Third, Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO, reminds us of the challenging ambition to recraft the global financial system in his letter to shareholders.

 

“What we’re doing is not easy given the complexity of navigating an evolving ecosystem where innovative technology and highly regulated, legacy financial services are intersecting in ways that will give rise to challenges and uncertainties. Building a new internet financial system, creating major new infrastructure for money and economic activity, shaping and responding to policy, and operating this infrastructure in a complex global macro environment—well, it’s hard. It’s complex and difficult, and will challenge you every day. But it is also an exciting financial and technological adventure.”
 Jeremy Allaire, Circle CEO

 

On an equally, and perhaps more important topic, we cannot ignore the macro environment—namely, the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs. Crypto doesn’t exist in isolation, and impacts, both negative and perhaps positive, will become apparent over time. My partner Elliot Chun offers some observations in this week’s Public Company Snapshot.