New Delhi, Dec. 15 -- When India's market regulator barred finfluencer Avadhut Sathe from accessing the securities market and froze Rs.546 crore in alleged "wrongful gains," it marked more than the fall of a social-media trading star. It revealed a deeper structural gap in India's fast-expanding digital-finance ecosystem, where education, advice and promotion are seamlessly interwoven and poorly regulated.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India's order shows how Sathe's "academy" promoted high-priced courses but functioned as an unregistered advisory service. Live trading sessions, precise buy-sell calls, stop-loss levels and private WhatsApp groups all pointed to actionable advice disguised as training. Sebi concluded that this cond...