‘There hasn’t been a consultation...’: Nithin Kamath questions reports on scrapping weekly F&O expiries

Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has pushed back hard against SEBI’s reported move to scrap weekly F&O expiries, saying there’s been no consultation with brokers — a sharp break from how major regulatory changes are typically handled.

“There hasn’t been a consultation with any of the brokers to the best of my knowledge yet,” Kamath posted on X. “SEBI always consults the industry players before big regulatory changes.”

His comments reflect growing frustration across market participants after reports claimed SEBI is preparing to phase out weekly options contracts — a product that has exploded in popularity, particularly among retail traders.

According to Moneycontrol, SEBI has initiated talks with large brokerages and will soon expand the consultation process to include exchanges and other stakeholders. But Kamath’s remarks suggest that the broader brokerage ecosystem has been left in the dark — even as stock prices of listed brokers and exchanges reacted sharply. Business Today could not independently verify the timeline or extent of SEBI’s outreach.

Weekly options are widely used for event-based hedging and low-capital trading, but regulators have raised red flags over high-risk retail behavior and speculative churn.

The proposed shift to monthly or fortnightly expiries has triggered concerns across the industry, with analysts warning that it could cut market volumes, reduce flexibility, and hit exchange earnings by as much as 30–40%.

Despite the market backlash, SEBI insists that any decision will follow a structured consultation process. A formal discussion paper is expected soon.