Strategy Pushes Back on MSCI Plan to Drop MSTR From Global Indexes
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy rejects MSCI's proposal to remove it from global indexes.
1MSCI's Proposal and Strategy's Response
MSCI proposed removing Strategy Inc. from its global equity indexes. Strategy responded with a flat refusal on August 14. The company argued that digital assets should be recognized as assets and that index providers should measure markets. MSCI's proposal was deemed inconsistent with regulators, markets, and customers.
2Index Criteria and Financial Ratios
MSCI proposed a two-step test for non-operating companies. The first step requires operating assets to account for more than half of total assets. The second step involves a screening process based on five financial ratios. These ratios cover operating asset intensity, expense intensity, operating cash flow, fair value intensity, and capital dependence.
3Current Members and New Candidates
Softer thresholds are applied to current members. Operating assets must be below 10% of the balance sheet, and operating expenses must be below 5% of assets. Negative operating cash flow, large non-operating fair value swings against assets and revenue, and external funding documentation for asset purchases are additional criteria.
4Simulation Results and Companies
MSCI's simulation suggested removing three companies in May. Strategy, with a market value of $23.93 billion, was the only large-cap company among them. London-listed Yellow Cake and Tokyo-listed Metaplanet were classified as small-cap companies. Metaplanet held approximately 43,000 BTC at the end of the second quarter.
5New Watchlist and Companies
Three additional companies were added to a new public watchlist: Taiwan's Center Laboratories, Turkey's Lydia Holding, and ether treasury company SharpLink. Yellow Cake stores physical uranium instead of digital assets, indicating that the screening extends beyond digital assets.
6Previous Attempt and Outcomes
MSCI's previous attempt targeted digital asset treasury companies, identifying 39 candidates with more than half of their total assets in crypto. Strategy's Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le signed a December letter labeling the threshold as discriminatory, arbitrary, and unworkable.
7Passive Investment and Impacts
Passive investment follows index membership, so a removal would require tracker funds to sell or rebalance their exposure to the stock. JPMorgan analysts estimated approximately $2.8 billion in outflows if Strategy exited MSCI's benchmarks.
8Results and Next Steps
Feedback closes on September 30, and results will be announced on October 16. Any adopted changes will be implemented at the November 2026 Index Review. MSCI noted that the consultation may or may not lead to any changes, and watchlist names will remain in the index until a second consecutive failure.
Original article: Bitcoin News — MSCI'nin Stratejiyi Endeksten Çıkarma Planına Tepki