MSCI will remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its equity indexes at the close of Nov. 30, the first deletions under the index provider’s new test for so-called non-operating companies. MSCI published the final impact list late on Wednesday as part of its November index review, ending months of argument over whether bitcoin treasury companies belong in benchmarks built for operating businesses.
What MSCI decided
The list marks “STRATEGY A” as deleted, Cointelegraph reported, along with Japan’s Metaplanet and Upexi. Reuters said UK uranium holder Yellow Cake is also on the exclusion list, and that Ether treasury firm SharpLink was placed on a watchlist rather than removed. The Block reported that Strategy leaves the MSCI USA Index and Metaplanet the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, and that MSCI’s documents gave no company-specific reasons.
A separate MSCI notice confirmed that the same treatment applies to the MSCI US Index Series from the November review. All November changes take effect as of the close of Nov. 30, so index funds would normally trade out of the shares on or around that date.
How the screen works
The test is not written around crypto. MSCI first applies a core screen to decide whether an issuer has substantial operating assets. Companies that fail go to an exclusion screen of five financial ratios that are not tied to any industry, and a security is ineligible if it is flagged on four or more of the five.
There is a buffer for existing members. MSCI said current constituents are removed only if they fail the screen in each of their two most recent annual filing periods, while non-members cannot be added if they fail in either. That is why SharpLink sits on a watchlist: a further failure next year would put it in the same position Strategy is in now.
The rule grew out of an earlier, narrower plan. MSCI first proposed excluding companies whose digital asset holdings made up at least half of their total assets, then widened the question to all companies that look more like investment funds than businesses. It adopted the non-operating framework on Oct. 15 and said the final list would come with the November review. A May simulation in its consultation paper had already put Strategy among three likely deletions, so the outcome for the largest name was widely expected.
How much selling is at stake
Estimates vary with the assumptions. JPMorgan has estimated that an MSCI exclusion could trigger roughly $2.8 billion of selling in Strategy stock, Cointelegraph reported, and Reuters said the bank put potential outflows as high as $8.8 billion if other index providers followed MSCI’s lead.
Strategy has argued the direct effect is smaller. In its consultation response, it said MSCI-linked funds held about 13 million of its shares, or 3.1% of basic shares outstanding and less than one day’s trading volume, Cointelegraph reported. At Wednesday’s closing price of $122.35, that stake is worth roughly $1.6 billion.
The market reaction so far has been muted. MSTR fell about 2.5% in extended trading after the list came out, Reuters reported, and was quoted near $120 overnight. Metaplanet closed at 231 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday, before the announcement, and traded slightly lower, near 229 yen, on Thursday. Strategy’s shares are down about 20% this year, Reuters noted, against a 15% fall in bitcoin.
Why it matters for treasury companies
For Strategy, index membership has been one of the ways new money reaches the stock without anyone choosing to buy it. Passive funds tracking MSCI benchmarks have to hold constituents, and that demand has helped absorb the shares Strategy sells to fund its bitcoin purchases, including the 811 BTC it bought at the start of November. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le have previously called MSCI’s treatment of digital asset treasury companies “discriminatory,” and the company said in a September letter that exclusion would have no meaningful impact on its business.
Metaplanet has been here before. It was removed from the S&P Japan Mid Cap 100 in June. Neither Strategy, Metaplanet nor Yellow Cake responded immediately to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The next questions are whether other index providers adopt similar tests, which is the scenario behind JPMorgan’s larger estimate, and whether watchlisted companies such as SharpLink change their balance sheets before their next annual filing.
FAQ
When does Strategy leave MSCI’s indexes?
At the close of Nov. 30, 2026, when MSCI implements all changes from its November index review.
Did MSCI remove Strategy because it holds bitcoin?
Not directly. MSCI’s screen looks at whether a company has substantial operating assets and at five financial ratios that apply to any industry. A uranium holder, Yellow Cake, was caught by the same test.
Is SharpLink being removed too?
No. SharpLink was placed on MSCI’s watchlist. Existing members are removed only after failing the screen in two consecutive annual filing periods.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
