New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath has said the hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) announced in the Union Budget 2026 is unlikely to reduce speculative activity in India's derivatives markets.

In a post on social media platform X, Kamath said, "if the goal was to reduce speculative activity in F&O, then I'm not sure this will do anything."

He noted that 95% of trading is already in options, and this STT increase will only push that share higher. "Why? Because the impact falls mostly on futures, while options are far more speculative than futures."

Kamath suggested that instead of repeatedly raising transaction taxes, regulators should consider introducing product suitability norms to determine who is e...