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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

Uncategorized

Week of October 7 – October 13

Todd White
October 16, 2024
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27 Crypto Private Financings Raised: ~$112M 

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $173M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $206M

 

 

The widespread adoption of crypto and blockchain-based use cases has faced numerous challenges, with speed and a frictional (at best) end-user experience being at the top of the list.

 

 

The issue of speed arises in two areas: transaction processing and settlement time, as well as the slow pace of development and the launch of useful tools. Additionally, the notoriously clunky user experience (UX) of crypto applications is a well-known, persistent barrier, especially for non-crypto-native users who struggle to understand what a protocol is, let alone how to use it.

 

 

Layer 2 networks—built on top of primary blockchains—have attempted to solve these issues by improving usability, scalability, and processing times. Some examples include the Ethereum-based Polygon and the Bitcoin-based Lightning Network. However, they have achieved only limited success.

 

 

A recent initiative, launched with $20 million in funding this week, may help address these concerns. Ithaca, a spinoff from Paradigm, is building a Layer 2 blockchain called Odyssey. According to their press release, Ithaca aims to “enable consumers to fully leverage crypto with fast, cheap, global, and private experiences.” They hope to differentiate the Odyssey L2 by launching with new features from the Ethereum roadmap that are not available elsewhere, such as powerful smart contract wallets to facilitate user onboarding to address the complexity and poor UX associated with migrating to crypto.

 

 

The new project will be led by Paradigm CTO Georgio Konstantopoulos, who will take on the role of CEO while maintaining his position and duties at Paradigm. With this spinoff, Ithaca joins an impressive lineup of Paradigm’s portfolio companies, which include Coinbase, Uniswap, and Flashbots, supported by a substantial $20 million injection for the fledgling L2.

 

 

Ithaca’s ambitions are not unique – many L2’s have attempted to address scalability, speed, and UX complexity with innovative new tools. We hope the Ithaca team’s technical acumen and pedigreed Paradigm backing will position them for success.  

 

 

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Meet Architect Partners at these upcoming events:

  • Money2020 (Oct 27 – Oct 30)

 

 

Contact ryan@architectpartners.com to schedule a meeting.