MSCI Considers Excluding Strategy and Metaplanet as 'Non-Operating Companies'

MSCI has opened a new consultation that could exclude companies classified as "non-operating" from its global indexes, and its May 2026 simulation puts Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy, the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder) and Japan's Metaplanet among the first candidates for deletion. Published in August 2026, the proposal replaces the earlier crypto-specific screen and introduces a methodology based on five financial ratios that applies to any sector.

How MSCI's two-step screen works

The consultation proposes to make companies ineligible for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes if they "create value by accumulating and holding non-operating assets," generate little cash from actual operations and depend on outside capital to grow. The framework has two stages: under the Core Screen, an issuer passes only if operating assets exceed 50% of total assets. Companies that fail move to the Exclusion Screen, based on five financial indicators: operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash generation, fair value changes and capital dependence. An issuer becomes ineligible if it fails at least four of the five. Proposed thresholds include operating assets below 20% of total assets, operating expenses below 5%, negative operating cash flow, fair value changes above 5% of total assets and capital dependence above 20%.

The May 2026 simulation: Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake

Applying the screen to May 2026 data on the MSCI ACWI IMI index, MSCI identifies three potential deletions: Strategy (Nasdaq), Metaplanet (Tokyo) and Yellow Cake, a London-listed uranium investment company. Three other companies, SharpLink, Center Laboratories and Lydia Holding, would land on a new public watchlist. Strategy holds 840,447 Bitcoin worth about $53.18 billion, making it the largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder; Metaplanet has accumulated 43,000 Bitcoin, worth over $2 billion. The presence of Yellow Cake and SharpLink (an Ethereum treasury) shows the screen is not specifically anti-Bitcoin, even though digital-asset treasuries are first in line. To avoid abrupt index turnover, MSCI proposes buffers: existing constituents would need to fail the screens in two consecutive annual filing periods before removal, while companies failing on their latest filing only would be placed on a public watchlist.

Strategy hits back: "Bitcoin doesn't need MSCI"

Strategy responded sharply on social media. "Digital assets are assets. Index providers should measure markets, not decide which assets companies are allowed to own," the company wrote on X. "MSCI's proposal puts it out of step with regulators, markets, and its own customers. Bitcoin doesn't need MSCI. Neither does Strategy." The reply follows Strategy's formal objection in December 2025 to the earlier draft, when it argued it is an operating company, pointing to its software business, active treasury operations and Bitcoin-backed credit instruments, called the 50% threshold arbitrary and urged MSCI to keep neutral index standards. The previous filter, presented in October 2025, listed 39 companies with crypto exposure above 50% of assets and triggered market volatility and industry backlash before being deferred in January 2026.

The passive-fund risk

Removal from MSCI indexes would force passive funds tracking them to sell the affected stocks. Some analysts estimate $1.8-2 billion of forced selling pressure on Strategy alone if exclusion from the ACWI IMI materializes in November. For the previous proposal, JPMorgan estimated outflows of up to $2.8 billion if MSCI acted alone, and up to $8.8 billion if other providers such as FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones adopted similar filters.

Next steps

The consultation runs through September 30, 2026; MSCI expects to announce the outcome by October 16 and, if the proposal is adopted, changes would be folded into the November 2026 index review. The outcome will decide whether listed Bitcoin treasuries remain compatible with inclusion in the world's main passive indexes.

Sources

• CoinDesk — Bitcoin holders Strategy and Metaplanet face stock-index exclusion under MSCI's new proposal
• CoinDesk — Strategy responds to MSCI's proposed index exclusion rules
• CryptoBriefing — MSCI proposes new screens that could exclude Strategy, Metaplanet from its indexes
• BitcoinLive24 — Indici MSCI: Strategy e Metaplanet a rischio esclusione