Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Indian brokerage firm Zerodha, has publicly warned that dollar-backed stablecoins pose a long-term risk to India’s financial sovereignty, while floating the idea of a gold-backed stablecoin as a potentially more suitable alternative for the country.
Posting on X, Kamath explained that the world still runs on the dollar but pointed to a quiet shift happening underneath. Countries are buying gold, trading in non-dollar currency pairs, and building payment infrastructure outside SWIFT. India’s own UPI system, he said, has been an exceptional example of building independent financial rails.
The Warning on Dollar Stablecoins
Kamath directed his concern specifically at those advocating for dollar-backed stablecoins in India. His position was direct. Championing dollar-linked crypto is a bad idea for India in the long run because it would deepen dependence on US monetary infrastructure at a time when the world is actively trying to reduce that dependence.
BREAKING: 🇮🇳 Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath backs gold-backed stablecoin for India, warns dollar-linked crypto could strengthen US dominance. pic.twitter.com/YNsUnypQZ6
— Crypto India (@CryptooIndia) May 12, 2026
He gave credit to the Modi government and Indian regulators for resisting pressure on this front, saying they got the call right despite significant external pressure to move in a different direction.
The Gold Stablecoin Idea
Rather than dismissing stablecoins entirely, Kamath raised a different possibility. India holds one of the largest reserves of household gold in the world, much of it sitting idle in homes without generating any return. A gold-backed stablecoin, he suggested, could potentially monetise that untapped asset and return yield to holders while avoiding dollar dependency entirely.
Kamath was careful to present the idea as a question rather than a firm proposal, saying he does not know enough about the mechanics to make a strong case but wanted to open the conversation.
