Jane Street Makes Huge Profits in Indian Market

Jane Street quietly made billions in India’s booming derivatives market by tapping into retail trading patterns—and they did it without selling a single product.

Published by Ecem EFE

5 July 2025, 13:12 published Updated 5 July 2025, 13:12

Jane Street Enters India: Here’s What Triggered the Move

Jane Street – India’s financial markets have quietly undergone a seismic shift, turning the country into a goldmine for high-frequency trading (HFT) firms. Among them is Jane Street, a global trading powerhouse that only entered India post-2020—and now, it’s reaping massive rewards. According to IIM alumnus Lokesh Ahuja, this wasn’t luck. It was the result of India becoming the most predictable and explosive derivatives market in the world.

India Becomes the Largest Derivatives Market by Volume

Between 2019 and 2024, the volume of derivatives trading in India surged nearly 40x, making it the world’s largest derivatives market by volume. But the volume tells only half the story. The real transformation came from the retail trading boom. In 2018, retail investors accounted for just 2% of derivatives activity. By 2024, they made up 41%, driving a staggering 820x growth in retail-driven volumes.

Ahuja attributes this explosion to the rise of mobile trading apps, social media-fueled tips, and the thrill of high-leverage, high-reward trades. Over just five years, trading accounts ballooned from 36 million to over 150 million, creating a massive, active, and emotionally-driven trader base—ideal conditions for algorithmic firms to thrive.

The Rise of Weekly Options: A Game Changer

A major turning point was the introduction of weekly options contracts in 2020. These contracts were cheaper, shorter in duration, and far more accessible for the average investor. As Ahuja puts it, “You could enter with ₹10 and exit within minutes.” This low-cost, high-frequency nature of weekly options fueled even more participation from retail traders and added predictable patterns to the market.

With millions of traders making similar moves around the same time, behavioral clustering emerged—where the market behaved in repetitive, almost algorithmic ways. This created the perfect playground for HFT giants like Jane Street, who could anticipate retail behavior and execute trades faster than any human possibly could.

Jane Street’s ₹19,500 Crore Profit—Without Selling a Biscuit

In 2024 alone, Jane Street reportedly made over ₹19,500 crore in profit from Indian equity derivatives. That’s more than the entire annual revenue of Britannia, one of India’s biggest consumer brands. “And they did it without selling a single biscuit,” Ahuja joked, underscoring just how powerful algorithmic trading can be in a behavior-driven market.

These firms don’t rely on emotion or tips—they rely on speed, math, and models. India’s booming derivatives market, dominated by predictable retail flows, gives them everything they need to win.

India: Not Just a Big Market, But a Predictable One

What sets India apart isn’t just size—it’s predictability. Markets driven heavily by emotion and repetition are ideal for quantitative strategies. With algorithms able to process millions of data points in milliseconds, firms like Jane Street can ride the wave of retail momentum without ever getting caught in the undertow.

This market environment isn’t going unnoticed. Other HFT firms are also setting their sights on India, while regulators may eventually step in to ensure fair play between man and machine.

The Future of Trading: Speed, Scale, and Strategy

India has become the testing ground for the future of trading—where retail excitement meets algorithmic precision. As the landscape continues to evolve, the power balance between human traders and machines may grow even more lopsided. But one thing is certain: in the world of derivatives, India has arrived, and the world’s sharpest traders are paying attention.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrencies and stocks, particularly in micro-cap companies, are subject to significant volatility and risk. Please conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions.