India’s Sebi warns investors about risky, unregulated digital gold products, urging use of only SEBI-registered platforms.

India’s securities regulator, Sebi, warned investors on 8 November 2025 against unregulated digital gold products offered by platforms like PhonePe, Paytm, CaratLane, Tanishq, and MMTC-PAMP, stating they are not securities or commodity derivatives and lack investor protections. Unlike regulated options such as gold ETFs and electronic gold receipts, these digital gold offerings fall outside Sebi’s oversight, exposing users to counterparty and operational risks. Sebi cautioned that such investments may incur tax liabilities and urged investors to verify that intermediaries and products are SEBI-registered. The regulator also warned of scams impersonating Sebi officials. Despite the risks, India’s gold ETFs saw record inflows of $850 million in October, totaling $3.05 billion for the year.