Sebastian Sinclair

Australian investment platform Superhero and crypto exchange Swyftx have terminated a billion-dollar merger that would have created the country’s first digital assets “super app.”



Swyftx will sell Superhero back to its co-founders, John Winters and Wayne Baskin, alongside investors who had backed the app two years ago.



A tightening regulatory environment at home is being blamed for the demerger. Swyftx only one month ago insisted its deal with Superhero, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/australian-crypto-exchange-swyftx-trading-app-superhero-reveal-1b-merger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">struck in June</a>, would forge ahead <a href="https://www.afr.com/markets/currencies/swyftx-insists-capital-raise-isn-t-ftx-related-superhero-merger-on-track-20221123-p5c0l0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unabated</a>.



At the time, Swyftx sought to raise fresh capital to assist its integration with Superhero, which had yet to materialize due to “customer service concerns,” <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/superhero-and-swyftx-walk-away-from-1-5b-merger-20221220-p5c7nv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian Financial Review</a> reported earlier this week.



The merger’s valuation — 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($2.2 billion) — had been based on various business fundamentals including past revenue and forecast revenue, signed off by both company boards.



The canceled deal comes amid a sensitive time for the crypto industry worldwide, wrecked by <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bankman-fried-set-for-us-extradition-to-face-monster-indictment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alleged fraud at FTX</a>, the latest in a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-not-worst-bad-thing-in-crypto-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">string of scandalous</a> blowups.



To prepare for a prolonged crypto winter, Swyftx axed some <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alex-harper-52640151_swyftx-announces-further-team-changes-activity-7005374577748979712-YVVz?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_ios">90 employees</a> at the beginning of the month, following up an initial cut of 74 staff in late August.



Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Swyftx told Blockworks that despite the layoffs the exchange had “no issues” with liquidity and was not at risk of insolvency.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Australian Crypto ‘Super App’ Canned Along With $2.2B Merger

Ben Strack

As a year marred by the collapse of various industry players approaches its end, several more firms revealed rounds of layoffs over the past week, bracing for crypto winter’s low point.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-09/crypto-s-amber-to-end-chelsea-sponsorship-axe-over-40-of-jobs-in-ftx-fallout?leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> Friday that Amber Group is set to cut its workforce to less than 400 from roughly 700. The report came after reporter Colin Wu <a href="https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1600018582212988929" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> Monday that the firm began to lay off hundreds of people again this month.



The company said in a Tuesday tweet that its operations as well as its WhaleFin app “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/amber-group-says-business-as-usual" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are business as usual</a>,” but acknowledged constantly adjusting internal teams and functions.



A spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said in <a href="https://twitter.com/benbybit/status/1599275418502459392" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a series of Dec. 3 tweets</a> that the company is set to downsize “across the board” as it seeks to be more nimble to navigate the market slowdown.



“Difficult decision made today, but tough times demand tough decisions,” he said. “I have just announced plans to reduce our workforce as part of an ongoing re-organisation of the business as we move to refocus our efforts for the deepening bear market.”



A spokesperson did not return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Australian crypto exchange Swyftx also said it would be laying off a portion of its team. CEO Alex Harper said in <a href="https://swyftx.com/au/media/press-releases/swyftx-announces-further-team-changes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Monday note</a> to company staff that it cut 90 employees as it looks to gear up for tough crypto market conditions potentially getting worse.  



“Swyftx has no direct exposure to FTX, but we are not immune to the fallout it has caused in the crypto markets,” Harper said. “As a result, we have to prepare in advance for a worst-case scenario of further significant drops in global trade volumes during [the first half of] next year and the potential for more black swan-type events.”



Harper said Swyftx has up to five times more employees than most of its main Australian competitors.&nbsp;



“The truth is that Swyftx grew too fast,” the CEO added. “Our world was very different at the start of the year and our forecasts were for global trading volumes to carry on rising for at least six months longer than they did.”



Crypto tax startup Koinly <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-tax-startup-koinly-cuts-staffers-just-in-time-for-tax-season" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently cut 16 full-time employees</a>, or 14% of the company, representatives said Tuesday. 



In a statement, CEO Robin Singh said crypto investors have a “lack of awareness” when it comes to “filing their crypto losses.” The “actual <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-main-characters-drop-like-flies-as-bear-market-turns-one" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto downturn</a>,” according to Singh, has hurt the company by a smaller margin.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gamestop-layoffs-crypto-staff-axed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GameStop also laid off some employees</a>, including members of the team building GameStop’s blockchain wallet, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/05/gamestop-begins-layoff" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axios</a> reported.



The layoffs mean an increased number of crypto-focused professionals are in search of jobs.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-draheim/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julia Draheim</a>, a recruiter at staffing firm Proof of Talent, told Blockworks that although not many crypto companies are currently in growth mode, some smaller firms that recently secured Series A funding rounds are looking to expand their teams with senior-level people.



The employees burned by bankruptcies and layoffs are looking for something more “stable,” she added, noting that word means something different to everyone.&nbsp;



“People that are super passionate about the space in general and see it as something that’s going to be important in the future are definitely not shying away [from crypto],” she said. “Most people just want to make sure that there’s strong funding and product-market fit.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">New hires</h3>



Draheim said that while certain former FTX employees have been concerned about being associated with the collapsed exchange, companies have not been holding what happened to their former employer against them.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcolejacobs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Jacobs</a>, FTX’s former global head of payments, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/former-ftx-head-lands-at-nuvei%EF%BF%BC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began his role</a> as a senior vice president of corporate development for Montreal-based payments technology company Nuvei.



Jacobs began working at crypto exchange FTX in June 2021. The crypto exchange <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/5-highlights-ftx-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> last month.



Cowen Digital brought aboard <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-s-cable-33282622/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Taylor Cable</a> — a former chief operating officer at Blockchain.com Asset Management — to lead its efforts in Europe and Asia. 



Financial services firm Cowen <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/financial-firm-cowen-unveils-digital-assets-unit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unveiled</a> its digital assets division in March. TD Bank said in August that it would <a href="https://blockworks.co/td-bank-buys-cowen-in-tradfi-push-with-crypto-twist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acquire Cowen for $1.3 billion</a>, though details about how it could seek to leverage Cowen’s digital assets unit remain unclear. 



Cable was also head of institutional client trading at Blockchain.com. Prior to joining the crypto company, he was COO at artificial intelligence trading broker AiX and spent more than a decade at Moore Capital Management.



Web3 gaming company Immutable hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shin-novation/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Shin</a> as its head of business development for the Asia-Pacific region and interim leader of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.



He joins Immutable from Klaytn Global Group, where he led the team focused on the adoption of the Klaytn blockchain.&nbsp;



Shin left the banking industry in 2019 after working as head of global equity derivatives and repo sales at TD Bank. He went on to be head of exchange at Bitcoin.com and led TZ APAC, a Singapore-based team focused on the adoption of the Tezos blockchain.&nbsp;



NFT platform Magic Eden hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisakhavan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chris Akhavan</a> as its first chief gaming officer. 



Akhavan was previously chief revenue officer at mobile game developer Glu Mobile, which was acquired by Electronic Arts (EA) last year.&nbsp;



Magic Eden <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-marketplace-magic-eden-raises-130m-for-creator-collector-support" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $130 million</a> in June, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion. The company launched a venture arm the following month that focuses on investing in Web3 games.



Wave Financial appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/harumiuratathompson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harumi Urata-Thompson</a> as its chief financial officer.



She is set to help the Los Angeles-based crypto investment advisory company build out its operations infrastructure and back office solutions to better service the team’s institutional and high-net-worth clients. 



Urata-Thompson was most recently CFO at blockchain services company Emrit. Before that, she was chief investment officer at crypto lender Celsius, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-to-file-for-bankruptcy-imminently-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> in July.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Latest in Crypto Hiring: More Fall Victim to Persistent Layoffs

<div id="highlights-block_629fe34a39ecb" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Leading Australian crypto exchange Swyftx will merge with retirement and equities trading platform Superhero</li>
 <li>Following the completion of the deal, both business&#8217; services are expected to be bundled under one interface for their combined 800,000-strong customer base</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Swyftx, one of Australia&#8217;s largest crypto exchanges by total volume, and ASX trading platform Superhero said Tuesday they will merge to create a &#8220;$1.5 billion (US$1 billion) financial services giant.&#8221;



The merger will attempt to forge Australia&#8217;s first crypto &#8220;super app&#8221; that offers access to both decentralized and traditional finance by enabling investment in crypto, retirement funds and equities, according to a statement.



The race is on to create Australia&#8217;s first financial super app, a platform designed to bundle multiple services from existing businesses across various sectors in an attempt to present a seamless customer experience. The country&#8217;s banks are leveraging their extensive customer bases in hopes of claiming the title, sans crypto.



&#8220;The proposed merger represents a significant step for both businesses in terms of their evolution from disruptive tech players into a single, major financial institution that can grow across domestic and international markets,&#8221; Swyftx co-founder Alex Harper said.



Both companies said they have experienced explosive growth over the last 12 months with Brisbane-based Swyftx clocking a 1,200% increase in users while the online share trading platform has witnessed a 600% rise.



The $1 billion figure is an agreed valuation by Swyftx and the Superhero board of directors based on various business fundamentals including past revenue and forecast revenue, a spokesperson told Blockworks.



&#8220;There’s confidence among both parties that the combined business easily justifies the valuation,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;This is two private companies coming together in a transaction with a significant equity component, so the key is relative valuation.&#8221;



Over 800,000 customers are expected to be counted at the completion of the deal, with 200,000 being tacked on to Swyftx via the superannuation and trading platform&#8217;s existing customers. Like a 401(k) in the US, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/superannuation.asp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">superannuation</a> is Australia&#8217;s retirement pension fund plan designed to deduct a portion of an employee&#8217;s income into a long-term savings account.



Both platforms will continue to operate their separate platforms while plans are made to offer both service offerings to investors. Following the deal&#8217;s wrap up, customers of both platforms will be able to log in via a unified interface under a single account.



The combined business will serve investors across Australia and New Zealand with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, London and Vancouver. The merger is expected to be completed early next year.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Australian Crypto Exchange Swyftx, Trading App Superhero Reveal ‘$1B’ Merger

<div id="highlights-block_620daa5efbe22" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Swyftx has become the official exchange partner of Australia&#8217;s National Rugby League</li>
 <li>While financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, a Swyftx spokesperson told Blockworks it was &#8220;the biggest crypto sports sponsorship&#8221; in the country</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Swyftx, one of Australia&#8217;s fastest-growing crypto exchanges, has signed a three-year deal with the country&#8217;s National Rugby League (NRL) for an undisclosed sum.



The deal, which contains options to extend beyond 2026, crowns Swyftx as the &#8220;official exchange partner&#8221; of the league, according to a press release on Wednesday. The Swyftx brand will appear on LED signage in stadiums as well as virtual signage broadcast to more than <a href="https://www.nrl.com/operations/the-game/international-broadcasters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">100 million viewers per year</a>, the company said.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“This is a defining partnership for the NRL and Swyftx and represents a major milestone for the Australian crypto industry,” said Swyftx CEO Ryan Parsons. “It’s now clear that crypto and digital asset investing forms part of a typical portfolio, and it’s great to see Australians embracing this new technology.” </blockquote>



The &#8220;major investment&#8221; will also see the exchange become the naming sponsor for the NRL&#8217;s decision board — a sign displaying &#8220;try&#8221; or &#8220;no try&#8221; when a team scores — which will be renamed &#8220;Swyftx Bunker&#8221; in 2023.



While the cost of the deal was not disclosed, a Swyftx spokesperson told Blockworks the amount is larger than Singapore-based exchange <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-australian-football-league-sign-18m-sponsorship-deal-in-country-first/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com&#8217;s AUD $25 million ($18 million) deal</a> with the Australian Football League (AFL) last month.



&#8220;We believe it is the biggest crypto sports sponsorship in Australia,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



In January, Crypto.com signed a sponsorship deal with the AFL that saw the company installed as the official crypto exchange partner of the AFL and the women’s AFLW league. Indeed, deals between sporting organizations and crypto businesses — namely exchanges — are becoming increasingly <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/washington-nationals-latest-pro-sports-team-to-strike-crypto-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more frequent</a>.



When asked whether the deal was a direct response to Crypto.com&#8217;s push for a greater share of crypto advertising in the country, the spokesperson said Swyftx had &#8220;already been looking for the right big-name partnership for a while.&#8221;



&#8220;It is certainly an indication of growing confidence in the future of crypto and the importance of brand recognition,&#8221; they said. &#8220;The NRL has millions of viewers every year, so it gives us a golden opportunity to announce ourselves and say we’re here and helping Aussies embrace these new technologies.&#8221;



Brisbane-based Swyftx&#8217;s rise to prominence can be seen in the ballooning of its customer base by 1200% last year. Customer numbers rose from around 40,000 at the start of 2021 to more than 500,000 by year&#8217;s end, the company said.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.