Having traded Nifty options through the rise of weekly expiries, I can tell you this: they changed the market in ways most retail traders still don’t fully understand. On paper, weeklies looked like a fantastic innovation — frequent expiries, cheaper contracts, and more opportunities. In practice, they became a trap that drained small traders’ capital week after week. That’s why I believe SEBI’s proposal to ban weekly expiries is not a setback, but rather a much-needed correction. Let me walk you through why I feel strongly about this.

Why Weekly Expiries Hurt Retail Traders

Weekly options magnified all the weaknesses of retail trading behaviour:

• Excessive leverage: Small premiums encouraged traders to buy or sell far more contracts than their capital could handle. A single wrong expiry wiped out weeks or even months of gains.
• Theta crush: In the last few days before expiry, options decay at lightning speed. Unless you understood time decay deeply and managed it actively, you were almost guaranteed to bleed money as a buyer.
• Overtrading culture: Every Thursday became a “lottery day.” Traders felt compelled to gamble, regardless of market conditions. This wasn’t strategy — it was addiction dressed up as trading.

I’ve personally watched new traders burn through savings chasing weekly out-of-the-money options, hoping for overnight riches. Instead, they faced the harsh mathematics of options: time decay is relentless. Weeklies didn’t democratize trading; they weaponized impatience.

The Benefits of SEBI’s Ban

Removing weekly expiries forces a shift in mindset — from gambling on short-term noise to building positions with more structure and intent.

• Focus on monthly and quarterly contracts: More time to plan, less pressure from daily theta, and a chance to think in weeks and months rather than hours.
• Reduced risk per trade: Higher premiums naturally limit oversizing. When a single lot costs more, you automatically scale down to what your account can handle.
• Encourages real strategies: With longer horizons, traders are nudged toward spreads, hedges, and positional trades — not one-day punts.

This isn’t about taking opportunities away; it’s about shifting retail traders away from setups designed to make them lose.

How Retail Traders Can Adapt

If you’ve built your trading style entirely around weeklies, the transition may feel uncomfortable at first. But it’s also an invitation to level up. Here’s how I’d approach it:

• Explore monthly spreads such as bull call spreads, iron condors, and calendars — they define risk clearly and reward patience.
• Pay closer attention to the implied volatility term structure. You’ll see patterns across monthly vs quarterly expiries that weeklies never showed.
• Shift your mindset from “quick lottery” to measured, risk-defined trades. The market isn’t going anywhere — there will always be opportunities.

The opportunity hasn’t disappeared. It has simply moved to a different time frame, one that actually gives you room to think and manage risk.

Final Thoughts

I know some traders will complain that weekly expiries were their playground. But let’s be honest — for most, they were a playground with a trapdoor. SEBI’s weekly expiry ban may feel restrictive, but I believe it’s one of the most retail-friendly changes we’ve seen in years. It stops the cycle of overtrading, overleveraging, and overpaying for decay that has crippled so many new traders.

If you’re serious about trading as a long-term craft, this shift could be the reset button you needed. Less noise, more structure, and a chance to focus on what really matters: survival, consistency, and disciplined growth.