Brisbane-based Swyftx will buy Melbourne-based Caleb & Brown

The Australian

3 days ago

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx has sealed a mega deal to acquire a US-focused crypto brokerage targeting millionaires in Donald Trump's self-declared 'crypto capital of the planet'. The acquisition is believed to be worth between $100m and $200m.
Brisbane-based Swyftx will buy Melbourne-based Caleb & Brown, which has built a business focused on rich US private investors who are increasingly piling into crypto assets after President Trump declared he wanted to make the country the world's crypto capital. Such investors have at least $1m in liquid assets.
The acquisition, the largest crypto deal ever in Australasia, comes three months after Swyftx signed a deal to buy Easy Crypto, New Zealand's largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Swyftx has successfully emerged from challenges in recent years, chiefly a failed merger in 2022 with rival Superhero to create a wealth management platform administering $1.5bn in cryptocurrency, direct equities and superannuation assets.
The same year it sacked 90 staff, equivalent to more than one-third of its employees, amid the brutal downturn in trading volumes following the collapse of US-based crypto exchange FTX.
Swyftx chief executive Jason Titman said the deal was 'laser-focused on supporting high rolling crypto investors in the US'.
The US accounts for about a quarter of all global trade volumes in cryptocurrency.
'We're entering a golden age for digital assets,' said Mr Titman, who declined to value the deal except to say it was in the 'tens of millions'.
'There are a lot of the new breed of wealthy investors who want a service that is ultra client-centric, with around-the-clock access to broker expertise.'
Mr Titman said the election of Mr Trump has sparked surging interest in crypto.
'There has been a 180-degree shift in the US since the Trump administration came in last November in terms of crypto,' he said.
Trump's pick of Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to end a crypto crackdown introduced under President Biden.
'High net worth individuals are always sensitive to the regulatory environment and they don't want to be investing money in an asset class that has got some level of government risk,' he said.
'A lot of that political risk was taken out when the Trump administration was elected.'
Caleb & Brown, which has more than $2bn of digital assets under custody, was founded by Rupert Hackett and Dr Prash Puspanathan in 2016. It is led by partner Jackson Zeng and employs 64 team members across Australia and the US.
Mr Titman said a typical US client had generally made their fortune in traditional industries, such as property or medicine, but wanted exposure to crypto.
'They are understanding that Bitcoin that's gone up 1200 per cent over the last five years and is the fastest growing and a highest asset growth of all time and it is something that they want to participate in,' he said.
'Previously they might have invested in an office building, in equities, maybe some bonds, maybe some Forex currency trading. They have millions of dollars of free investable cash and that's the customer base that we now have access to.'
Swyftx, founded in a Brisbane bedroom in 2017 by young entrepreneurs Angus Goldman and Alex Harper, will employ just under 300 team members on completion of the deal. It is now one of the region's largest digital asset brokerages with more than 1.2 million customers.
Mr Titman's career, which has spanned accountancy, hotel development and e-commerce, said Swyftx was moving beyond its start-up roots into the corporate big league or what he termed from 'hoodies to suits'.
Mr Titman said he expected to see a collection of cryptocurrencies, known as stable coins, eventually replacing traditional cash for investment and trading.
He said Swyftx was looking at several other acquisitions.
'There is a larger plan coming together here for Swyftx. Part of it's organic, part of it's partnerships and part of it's mergers and acquisitions,' he said.
'This is our second transaction after Easy Crypto and it is about getting a different customer base. It also fast tracks our move into the US, which I've been interested in doing for some time.' Read related topics: Donald Trump Glen Norris Senior Business Reporter
Glen Norris has worked in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo with stints on The Asian Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and South China Morning Post. Economics
The message from business to Anthony Albanese's challenge is not to overcomplicate the process, but there has to be a real appetite for change. Business
Business leaders have demanded Anthony Albanese delivers a broad reform package at August's roundtable. 'Of course the PM should be worried … Why would we want to be the 15th or the 16th or the 17th of anything?' asked Paul Schroder.