Jane Street cannot survive in India thanks to SEBI: Nithin Kamath
New Delhi New Delhi: Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Friday praised the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for taking strong action against US trading giant Jane Street, saying India’s strong regulatory framework does not allow market practices commonly prevalent in the West.
In a post on social media platform X, Kamath said: “None of these practices will be allowed in India thanks to our regulators”, referring to US market structures such as dark pools and payment for order flow – arrangements often criticised for favouring hedge funds at the expense of retail investors.
Kamath’s comments come in the wake of Sebi’s interim order accusing Jane Street and its group entities of manipulating the Bank Nifty index using complex intra-day strategies.The regulator found that the firm made huge profits of over Rs 43,289 crore between January 2023 and March 2025, primarily through options trades, by artificially boosting the index and then pulling it down – particularly on expiry days.
Noting the gravity of the alleged manipulation, Kamath said: “You have to hold Sebi responsible for going after Jane Street. If the allegations are true, this is clearly market manipulation.”He added that the firm’s continued action even after alerts from exchanges points to how accustomed some players are to lenient oversight in other jurisdictions.
However, Kamath also raised concerns about the potential downside of the action. He pointed out that proprietary trading firms like Jane Street contribute to nearly 50 per cent of India’s options trading volumes.
If they decide to back out in the wake of Sebi’s crackdown, retail participation – which is around 35 per cent – could also be impacted. “This could be bad news for both exchanges and brokers,” Kamath said. He added that the next few days would be crucial to understand how much the Indian market is dependent on large prop trading firms. “F&O volumes can give an idea of how much we are dependent on these prop giants,” he added.
