‘Buried underneath ₹70 lakh debt’: How a household’s ‘success child’ received trapped in F&O buying and selling – BusinessToday – Company Technique & Outlook

At a time when the Price range 2026 proposal to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and choices (F&O) buying and selling has sparked sharp debate, a recent cautionary story from social media has as soon as once more put the highlight on the dangers of retail derivatives buying and selling. 

An X person, Nihal Gupta, has claimed that his “smartest cousin” misplaced all the pieces after getting hooked on choices buying and selling, ultimately slipping right into a ₹70 lakh debt lure. The publish, which has gained traction on the platform, narrates how what started as a promising profession spiralled into monetary misery over a decade. 

In an in depth thread, Gupta wrote that his cousin was as soon as the “success child” of the household — a Tier-1 B.Tech and MBA graduate who landed a ₹12 lakh-a-year job in 2013, purchased a home, and moved his dad and mom in. “Everybody was proud,” he mentioned. 

In keeping with Gupta, the difficulty started when his cousin found choices buying and selling. Preliminary income led to bigger bets, which quickly became mounting losses. “Then got here the pondering: ‘Simply must get well as soon as’,” he wrote. 

The scenario worsened after his cousin give up his job to commerce full-time. Private loans had been taken, the house mortgage was elevated, and buying and selling continued seeking a comeback that by no means materialised. Over practically 10 years, Gupta claimed, the losses in F&O buying and selling crossed ₹1 crore. 

In the present day, the cousin is 35, single, working at a financial institution for ₹17 lakh every year, and scuffling with ₹70 lakh in debt. “He could even need to promote his home to outlive,” Gupta wrote. 

The publish ends with a stark warning: “In markets, intelligence isn’t an edge. Self-discipline is. Overconfidence destroyed what expertise constructed.”