Strategy And Metaplanet Face MSCI Index Exit Under New Rules

MSCI Targets Non-Operating Companies

MSCI has opened a consultation proposing to exclude so-called "non-operating companies" from its Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI), a move that would directly affect major $BTC treasury firms. The index provider has opened a new consultation this month, proposing to identify and exclude "non-operating companies" from its Global Investable Market Indexes. The proposed classification would be based on five financial ratios rather than a threshold for cryptocurrency holdings.

Under the proposal, a company must first fail a core screen determining whether its asset structure reflects a sufficient level of operating assets. If it does, MSCI then applies an exclusion screen based on five non-industry-specific financial ratios, and a company is deemed ineligible if it fails four out of five of those tests.

Under this framework, Strategy's Bitcoin-buying model, which primarily raises equity and debt to accumulate $BTC rather than to fund software operations, would trip the exclusion criteria. Based on its FY2025 financial filings, Strategy reportedly fails all five of those tests. The same logic applies to Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that has built one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries largely through share issuance.

Watchlist, Timeline, and Potential Market Impact

The proposed screen, if applied to the MSCI ACWI IMI Index based on company data as of May 2026, would have resulted in the deletion of three companies: Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake. Three additional companies, including Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink, would land on a new public watchlist under the May 2026 simulation. Current index constituents failing the screens based on latest filings, but not failing for two consecutive years, would be placed on that watchlist and removed only if they fail again the following year.

MSCI builds stock market indexes that fund managers around the world use to decide which stocks to hold and in what proportion. A change to eligibility rules can trigger forced buying or selling from index-tracking funds worth trillions of dollars. Earlier projections suggested index-linked funds could be forced to sell around $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion worth of Strategy shares, though that estimate has since been revised to roughly $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion in potential outflows.

This is not the first time MSCI has moved against crypto treasury firms. A previous consultation focused specifically on Digital Asset Treasury firms closed in December 2025. MSCI ultimately decided not to exclude digital asset treasury companies from its global indexes at that time. The current proposal takes a broader approach, targeting any company that resembles an investment fund rather than an operating business.

MSCI has invited feedback from market participants through September 30, with results to be announced on October 16. Any resulting changes would be folded into the November 2026 index review, if the proposal is adopted at all.

Sources:
MSCI: Consultation on Eligibility of Non-Operating Companies for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes
CoinDesk: Bitcoin Holders Strategy and Metaplanet Face Stock-Index Exclusion Under MSCI's New Proposal
Crypto Briefing: MSCI Could Remove Strategy and Metaplanet from Indexes in November