Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath cautions against investing in digital gold

Nithin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, has issued a warning to investors buying digital gold as it is unregulated. The 46-year-old investor said that once they buy digital gold, they lose around 6 percent due to 3 percent of GST and another 2-3 percent for other things, including taxes and platform fees. Kamath’s warning comes just days after market regulator Sebi issued an advisory warning investors to avoid unregulated products such as digital gold.

Nithin Kamath about digital gold

In a post on

He added that buying digital gold is an expensive way to gain exposure to gold. “You immediately pay 3% GST. Then there’s another 2-3% difference, which means as soon as you buy you’re already down about 6%, and that’s before you even take into account regulatory risks,” Kamath added, referring to taxes and platform fees.

Nithin Kamath suggests safer, regulated alternatives

Kamath suggested that investors should consider safer, regulated alternatives to gold exposure. “Now that Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) have been discontinued, gold ETFs remain one of the safest and easiest ways to invest in gold,” he added.

Digital gold is unregulated. A timely reminder from SEBI.

Most people don’t realize that no one regulates digital gold, and there’s not much you can do if something happens to the platforms or companies that sell it.

It’s also a below-average way to gain exposure to gold. You pay… pic.twitter.com/ETexXWD0oV

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) 12 November 2025

Warning from Sebi against investing in digital gold

On November 8, the Markets regulator warned investors against investing in digital or e-gold products, saying such instruments fell outside its regulatory framework and involved significant risks. The cautionary statement came after Sebi observed that some online platforms were promoting ‘digital gold’ or ‘e-gold’ products as an easy alternative to investing in physical gold.