Zerodha, India’s largest stockbroker by revenue, is preparing to allow its users to invest directly in US stocks by early 2026, according to CEO Nithin Kamath.
During an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session with Zerodha’s leadership, Kamath said, “A lot of people tagged me on social media and asked about the US investing thing. We are working on it, and we should have something in the next quarter.”
Adding to it, Zerodha’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kailash Nadh said, “Investing in foreign stock has been a long-pending thing. We now have the requisite regulatory clarity through GIFT City. We now have the requisite regulatory clarity through GIFT City. We are trying to build a simple and seamless experience for users in the backend as well as in the frontend.” Initially, the overseas investment option will be limited to US stocks.
Kamath on enabling investments in US stocks
Meanwhile, this is not the first time the discount broker has discussed offering access to the American market. Back in 2020, Kamath mentioned that Zerodha was planning to enable investments in US stocks, but progress was delayed due to COVID-related disruptions.
At the time, Kamath also pointed out that remittance regulations as a key challenge. The GIFT City route now appears to have simplified the process, making it more seamless for users.
The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) now provides faster resolution to such transactions, enabling foreign investments.
The GIFT City is India’s first special economic zone designed to host institutions in global finance, insurance, fintech, and capital markets. These activities are regulated by a unified authority, the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA).
Investors can access US stocks through two primary channels via GIFT City – India INX’s Global Access (a subsidiary of BSE) and NSE-IX.
Other brokerages, including INDmoney, Motilal Oswal, Axis Direct, and HDFC Securities, also allow investments in US equities.
Zerodha’s results
The announcement comes as Zerodha recorded a 40% year-on-year drop in broking revenue in Q1 FY26.
Recently, Kamath also stated, “That said, the regulatory actions, be it the drop in transaction charges revenue, the increase in securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options, the proposal to make futures and options trading tougher, application supported by blocked amount (ASBA) for trading, the increase in Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) limit etc, will have a significant impact on our revenues and profitability. The time has finally come for business to pivot.”
