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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

Financing

Week of September 01 – September 07

Todd White
September 10, 2025
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September 1 – September 7 (Published September 10th)

PERSPECTIVES by Todd White

 

47 Crypto Private Financings Raised: $214.9M

Rolling 3-Month-Average: $393.0M

Rolling 52-Week Average: $351.3M

 

The crypto and digital asset infrastructure necessary to enable non-crypto-native users to migrate onto Web3 and digital-asset use cases is proving to be critical table stakes for institutional enterprises seeking to utilize blockchain-enabled technologies in their core businesses. These include fundamental functions such as the wallets (custodial and non-custodial) used to hold, transfer, and program digital assets; on/off-ramps that facilitate fiat-to-crypto (and vice versa) conversions; the payment rails to process digital transactions; and the compliance and security protocols needed to enable traditional institutions and enterprises to utilize the technologies.

 

As we’ve noted previously, investor support for such infrastructure has been relatively consistent throughout the last market cycle, with crypto payments recently receiving some of the most active attention. That trend continues this week, with the U.S.- and Israeli-founded crypto-infrastructure firm Utila receiving an additional $22 million in an extension of its March Series A round.

 

Utila is an enterprise-grade crypto-infrastructure firm specializing in digital-asset operations and stablecoin workflows for institutions. Offerings include MPC wallets; multi-chain support; APIs; on/off-ramps and permission systems for treasury and trading operations; and tokenization support for minting, custody, and smart contract management.

 

Utila fits squarely within the digital-asset infrastructure theme, though it is notable for several unique aspects. First, the extension was driven by unsolicited inbound investor interest, a rare signal that Utila’s metrics and institutional positioning have attracted broad attention, rather than by a need for capital or a fundraising push by the company. The company reports that most of its original Series A proceeds remain in the bank, yet it chose to extend the round to accelerate the capture of growing market demand. Further, the extension drew capital from strategic investors, including traditional names such as NFX (known for sound business judgment and regarded as thought leaders in emerging business models) and Wing Venture Capital (a firm known for its deep-tech acumen that avoids hype cycles). The fact that a cohort of deeply experienced Web2 investors made inbound investment proposals to move into the space is significant.

 

Digital-asset infrastructure is increasingly viewed as foundational for next-gen institutional adoption, which should catalyze follow-on capital raises and strategic partnerships for Utila and other leaders in the sector. We expect continued investor support for the best teams and businesses, as well as expanded M&A, as traditional institutions and enterprises recognize the opportunities that digital assets provide and the difficulty of trying to build the capabilities themselves.