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Zerodha Withdrawal Row Goes Viral: Nithin Kamath Explains Reason Behind Rs 5 Crore Limit
ABP Live Business | November 4, 2025 3:11 PM CST

A heated debate has erupted in India’s trading community after Mumbai-based investor Dr Aniruddha Malpani accused Zerodha of preventing him from withdrawing Rs 5 crore from his account, despite his dashboard showing over Rs 18 crore as withdrawable balance. 

His post on X (formerly Twitter), complete with screenshots, went viral within hours, sparking curiosity, confusion, and criticism across social media and financial circles.

The Post That Stirred a Storm

In his post, Dr Malpani claimed that the popular brokerage firm  imposed a daily withdrawal cap that restricted him from accessing his own funds. “The Zerodha scam! They don’t allow me to withdraw my own money from their account, saying the daily limit for withdrawal is Rs 5 crores. They use my money for free!” he wrote.

His screenshots showed a total account value of Rs 42.92 crore, including Rs 24.46 crore as margin and Rs 18.46 crore marked as withdrawable. 

Alongside, a note from Zerodha stated, “A maximum of Rs 5 crores can be withdrawn per day. For instant withdrawals, the request must be between Rs 100 and Rs 2,00,000 per day. The withdrawal limit is subject to the availability of withdrawable balance in the trading account.”

The post gained traction quickly, fuelling heated conversations among retail investors and traders. Many users questioned the policy, while others defended Zerodha’s operational safeguards, arguing that such restrictions were standard among financial service platforms to ensure risk management.

Nithin Kamath Responds: ‘For the Sanity of Our Systems’

As speculation swirled online, Zerodha’s co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath took to social media to clarify the situation. Kamath responded directly to Dr Malpani, confirming that his withdrawal request had already been processed and explaining the rationale behind the Rs 5 crore daily limit.

“Hi Dr, your payout requests were processed yesterday. We need to ensure, for the sake of our systems’ sanity (like all other financial services firms), that we have some checks in place when clients withdraw funds,” Kamath wrote. 

“As you can imagine, numerous potential issues can arise during the withdrawal process, and once funds are paid out, there is no way for us to recover them. Hence, Rs 5 crore is the threshold at which we ask customers to create tickets to withdraw.”

His response was measured but firm, aiming to defuse tensions while also highlighting the operational caution required in handling large transactions in the financial sector.

Investor Fires Back: ‘Why Make Me Do the Work?’

Dr Malpani later replied to Kamath’s clarification, saying he understood the reasoning but felt the burden of verification was being unfairly placed on users. “Yes, I understand. My point is you are transferring the burden on the user. Your system can easily flag high-value transactions and your customer service team can email and phone the user to confirm that it's a valid transaction. Why make me do the work?” he commented.

His follow-up resonated with several investors who echoed similar sentiments, arguing that customer convenience should not be compromised in the name of internal controls. Others, however, pointed out that real-time verification for large withdrawals could pose logistical challenges and potential delays.

The episode quickly became a talking point in India’s online investor community, not just about Zerodha, but about the broader expectations retail investors have from digital brokerages. 

Zerodha, known for its transparent fee structure and robust platform, is often seen as a disruptor in India’s brokerage landscape. Yet, the viral exchange revealed how sensitive the investor base has become to any perceived restriction on liquidity and accessibility.

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