MSCI Yanks the Welcome Mat: Bitcoin Treasury Darlings Face the Index Exit 🚪

MSCI has finalized a rule change that could remove shares of leading bitcoin-holding companies Strategy (MSTR, $151.24 at Thursday's close) and Tokyo-listed Metaplanet (3350) from its MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes, with the new methodology taking effect at the close of Nov. 30. The index provider announced Thursday it will treat "non-operating companies" as ineligible for its global indexes, adopting a proposal it floated in August with minor modifications. MSCI said it will publish the final list of affected companies on Nov. 11.

The methodology screens corporate issuers for substantial operating assets and runs companies that fail an initial "core screen" through five financial ratios; a company is flagged for exclusion if it trips four or more of the tests. Existing index constituents must fail the screening process over two annual reporting periods before removal, while new additions can be blocked for failing in either of their last two filings. MSCI also scrapped a temporary freeze on index adjustments for companies whose digital-asset holdings account for 50% or more of total assets, subjecting all such firms to the new rules.

Strategy, the largest publicly listed bitcoin holder with 848,250 BTC worth about $69.67 billion according to Bitcoin Treasuries, is among the firms MSCI had previously identified for deletion. Other companies placed on a watchlist for potential removal include Sharplink (SBET), Ton Strategy Company (TONX), Solana Company (HSDT), DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) and Upexi. JPMorgan analysts estimated that Strategy's exclusion could trigger roughly $2.8 billion in selling pressure, a figure that concerned MSCI's earlier digital-asset proposal rather than the rules adopted Thursday. Strategy said funds tracking the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes hold approximately 13 million of its shares, representing 3.1% of basic shares outstanding and less than one day's trading volume.

Metaplanet, which closed at 277 yen ($1.75) on Friday after peaking at 1,930 yen in June 2025, sold 10,000 Bitcoin and repurchased 11,000 to demonstrate active treasury management ahead of the decision, while Strategy has continued adding to its stack. $BTC was trading at $82,071.33 at the time of the announcement. "The MSCI episode highlights a growing tension between traditional index construction and the rise of companies that treat Bitcoin as a core treasury asset rather than a secondary holding," decentralized infrastructure network ZEROBASE said on X.

Any forced selling by index funds would affect the affected companies' shares rather than their bitcoin holdings. "It removes a company from the default portfolios of tens of millions of people who never chose to remove it," said Conner Brown, executive director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, in September, describing the consequences of broad-market index exclusion with Strategy as the example. Michael Saylor had urged MSCI to drop what he called a "discriminatory" rule that would delete Strategy from its benchmarks, and the index provider's decision finalizes the framework under which that determination will now be made.