MSCI has approved new eligibility rules that could remove bitcoin-holding companies including Strategy and Metaplanet from its global equity indexes, potentially reducing demand for their shares and making it more difficult for them to raise capital for future bitcoin purchases.
Companies face an index test
The index provider said the affected companies will be identified on Nov. 11, with any changes taking effect after markets close on Nov. 30. The rules were first proposed in August and target companies that primarily hold investments rather than operate a substantial business.
The policy applies to MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes, which are tracked by funds and other investment products. When a company enters an index, funds designed to follow that benchmark generally need to buy its shares. Removal can create the opposite effect, requiring those funds to sell regardless of the company’s longer-term prospects.
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is the most prominent company facing the change. Based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, it is described in the source material as the largest publicly listed bitcoin holder, with 848,250 BTC valued at approximately $69.67 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet is also among the companies identified in MSCI’s initial review. Yellow Cake, a U.K. uranium investment company, was the third company flagged in a test using May 2026 data.
Potential pressure on Strategy shares
JPMorgan analysts estimate that Strategy’s exclusion could lead to around $2.8 billion in outflows from its common stock. The estimate concerns MSTR shares, not the company’s bitcoin holdings. Index funds selling shares would not automatically require Strategy to sell any of its bitcoin.
However, the distinction may not eliminate the broader financial impact. Strategy has used equity-related instruments, including preferred shares such as STRC and STRK, to help finance additional bitcoin purchases. If index-related selling weakens demand for its shares, raising new money could become more difficult or more expensive. The same issue may affect other companies that have adopted a similar approach to building digital-asset reserves.
Strategy’s shares closed at $151.29 on Thursday, about 72% below their record high of $543 in November 2024. Metaplanet closed at 277 yen, or $1.75, on Friday, compared with a peak of 1,930 yen in June 2025, according to TradingView.
Strategy founder Michael Saylor has argued that the company should not be treated as an investment fund. He describes Strategy as an operating business with a software division and a separate bitcoin treasury business. The company sells business-intelligence software to customers including Coca-Cola and Porsche.
According to CoinDesk, the decision has exposed a broader debate over how traditional equity benchmarks should classify companies that make bitcoin a central treasury asset rather than a secondary investment. Passive funds have become an important source of demand for such shares, while reduced access to that demand could narrow the period in which companies can issue stock to fund further purchases.
How the new MSCI rules work
MSCI already excludes investment funds and similar vehicles. The approved framework extends that treatment to operating companies that, in practice, resemble investment-holding entities.
The first step is an assessment of whether a company has substantial operating assets—assets connected to a real business. Companies that do not meet that test are then assessed using five financial ratios covering expenses, cash flow, changes in asset values and dependence on external financing. A company is deemed ineligible if it is flagged on at least four of the five measures.
The framework includes safeguards intended to prevent frequent changes in index membership. An existing constituent must fail the screen during both of its two most recent annual reporting periods before removal. A company outside the index is prevented from joining if it fails in either of those two periods.
MSCI is also ending temporary measures introduced in October 2025 for companies whose digital assets represented at least 50% of total assets. Those measures froze increases in the share counts used for index calculations and delayed additions and moves between size segments. From the November review onward, the companies will instead be evaluated under the newly finalized rules.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 21:34 on Oct. 17, 2026, showed broad weakness among the listed digital-asset-related tokens covered in the snapshot:
- DeXe (DEXE): $1.7305778804, down 1.35% over 24 hours and 8.81% over seven days.
- Compound (COMP): $21.2665750122, down 3.84% over 24 hours and 14.67% over seven days.
- Meteora (MET): $0.3436147703, down 6.03% over 24 hours and 19.27% over seven days.
Would (WOULD) was priced at $0.0351412837 in Moneyiar data recorded at 21:04 on Sept. 22, 2026, up 0.33% over 24 hours and 10.6% over seven days.
