Key Takeaways:
MSCI is consulting on a proposal that would strip Strategy and Metaplanet from its Global Investable Market Indexes, potentially triggering $2 billion of forced selling from passive funds.
The index provider, formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International, opened the consultation in August after a May 2026 simulation showed the two Bitcoin treasury firms and uranium holder Yellow Cake PLC would fail new financial screens. JPMorgan projected that if rival index providers adopt similar rules, total passive outflows could reach $8.8 billion.
The proposed methodology adds ratio tests to catch companies that behave like investment funds rather than operating businesses. A company first faces a core screen checking whether operating assets make up more than half of its balance sheet. Those that fail move to a second test covering five ratios, including operating asset intensity, cash flow, and reliance on outside capital to fund growth. Flunking four of five ratios makes a company ineligible. Strategy, based on its FY2025 filings, fails all five, as does Metaplanet.
Strategy's model, which raises equity and debt to accumulate Bitcoin rather than fund software operations, trips the exclusion criteria. Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that has built the world's third-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury largely through share issuance, faces the same outcome. Yellow Cake, which holds physical uranium rather than an operating business, met the same criteria despite having no connection to crypto markets.
MSCI wants to protect index stability by applying softer thresholds to current constituents than to companies seeking addition. A constituent would need to fail the screens across two consecutive annual filings before deletion, rather than just one. Three additional companies, including Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink, would land on a new public watchlist under the May 2026 simulation, having failed the latest filing check only.
The broader framing around "non-operating companies" rather than "digital asset treasury firms" is notable. By widening the lens beyond crypto-specific language, MSCI is building a methodology that could apply to any company whose primary activity is holding a single asset rather than running a business. Trillions of dollars in global assets track MSCI indexes, so a removal forces passive funds to sell mechanically.
If adopted, the change would mark the first time a major index provider has systematically excluded companies built around single-asset treasuries. FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones have not announced similar consultations, but JPMorgan's $8.8 billion estimate assumes they eventually follow MSCI's lead.
The outcome could set a precedent for how index providers treat the broader wave of public companies that have adopted digital assets as a primary treasury strategy. MSCI's consultation period runs through September 30, with results expected by October 16 and any changes taking effect during the November 2026 Index Review.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
