The merger of Australian cryptocurrency trading platform Swyftx and online investing platform Superhero worth $1.5 billion has been called off.

The deal was hyped as creating Australia's first app that traded traditional shares and cryptocurrency investments.  

Superhero is an online investing platform that allows customers to invest in Australian and US shares, and ETFs.

Crypto exchange Swyftx has 600,000 customers, and earlier this month cut around 40 per cent of its staff in the wake of the US platform FTX's collapse.

The ABC contacted Swyftx and Superhero for comment.

Cryptocurrency is facing regulation in Australia.

This is what Alex Harper, CEO and co-founder of Swyftx, had to say in a statement:

“It is a disappointing outcome but ultimately, we took this decision in the best interests of both Superhero and Swyftx, as well as their customers," Mr Harper said.

“The policy environment has changed significantly since we announced the merger and neither party has been able to realise the vision of the merger in any meaningful way. We currently face a scenario where there might be no realised benefits to customers from the merger until 2024 at the earliest.

“Under these circumstances, we felt it best to focus on our core offering. The decision puts Swyftx in a strong position and frees us up to focus on consolidation and growth opportunities in digital assets.”

Superhero CEO and co-founder John Winters says the decision to demerge is in the best interests of the company and customers:

“The volatility in the market as well as the current regulatory environment has made it increasingly difficult to achieve the initial vision that inspired the merger earlier this year. Superhero will return to being independently owned by myself and my co-founder Wayne Baskin as well as our loyal investors who have supported the growth of Superhero since 2018," Mr Winters said in a statement.

“We thank Alex, Angus and the Swyftx team for their support over the last six months and wish them all the best for the future.”