Bio
Pankaj Balani brought experience in traditional derivatives markets to cryptocurrency when he helped establish Delta Exchange in 2018. His career includes work at UBS and experience in quantitative finance and Asian equity markets. At Delta, that background has informed a business focused on trading products, particularly cryptocurrency futures and options.
From traditional markets to cryptocurrency
Before Delta Exchange, Balani worked in derivatives trading, including at UBS. His experience covered quantitative finance and Asian equity markets, giving him a background in products whose value depends on an underlying asset.
His career also included helping build an e-commerce business in India. That brought a different perspective alongside financial markets: developing a business, serving customers and managing growth.
These experiences came together at Delta Exchange. Building a trading venue requires financial knowledge, but it also involves product decisions, technology and the practical demands of operating a business.
Building Delta Exchange around derivatives
Delta Exchange was established in 2018, with Balani working alongside co-founders Jitender Tokas and Saurabh Goyal.
An early company update records that the exchange launched in August 2018 with a single BTC–USD futures contract. It subsequently added futures linked to other digital assets.
That starting point explains the company’s identity. Rather than beginning with a broad catalogue of consumer products, Delta initially concentrated on derivatives. These contracts give traders exposure to an underlying asset’s price without necessarily involving ownership of that asset.
For markets linked to Bitcoin, that distinction is important: holding a futures position and holding bitcoin are different activities.
Why options became part of the business
Options fit naturally into the type of market Balani’s team was building. They introduce choices around price, expiry and the conditions under which a contract can be exercised.
Delta Exchange India’s documentation describes call and put options on Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside perpetual contracts and other products.
For an exchange operator, supporting these markets involves more than listing a contract. Traders also need usable market information, order-management tools and clear product specifications.
Balani’s professional background helps explain the emphasis on this part of the industry. His work at Delta connects experience in established derivatives markets with the development of cryptocurrency trading services.
Bringing a dedicated platform to India
Delta Exchange announced the launch of its Indian platform in June 2024. The launch centred on cryptocurrency futures and options, with INR-based transactions intended to make the service accessible to Indian traders.
This was a separate milestone from the original business’s establishment in 2018. The India platform and the global platform should therefore be identified clearly when discussing product availability or operating arrangements.
For Balani, the launch extended the company’s work into a market with an established interest in futures and options. It also introduced a local platform experience rather than simply presenting the global service under a different label.
Connecting trading tools with execution
A more recent development is Delta Exchange’s integration with TradingView. TradingView’s announcement describes access to Delta’s cryptocurrency perpetual futures and options through its charting interface.
The practical change is in the trading workflow. Eligible customers can connect their Delta account and place supported trades from TradingView, bringing analysis and execution into the same interface.
The integration belongs to the company’s broader product development. It should be understood as a team and partner initiative rather than a feature personally built by Balani.
His current role at Delta Exchange
Balani serves as Delta Exchange’s co-founder and CEO. His position combines business leadership with a professional background in the markets the platform serves.
His career illustrates one route into the crypto industry: applying experience from traditional finance to a new set of underlying assets and trading venues.
The progression from an initial futures contract to a wider product range, an Indian platform and integrations with established trading tools provides the clearest context for his work.
