MSCI has opened a public consultation that could result in Strategy and Japans Metaplanet being removed from its Global Investable Market Indexes, potentially triggering billions of dollars in forced selling by passive funds.
The proposal, published Wednesday, introduces a two-step eligibility screen for non-operating companies. First, MSCI checks whether a companys core business assets make up more than 50% of its total asset base. Companies that fail move to a second test evaluating five financial ratios covering operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value changes, and capital dependence. Failing four out of five flags results in index exclusion.
Who Fails the Test?
When MSCI ran its simulation against May 2026 data, three companies failed outright: Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium investment firm Yellow Cake. Strategy, with a free-float-adjusted market capitalization of $23.9 billion in the simulation, is by far the largest company flagged for removal. SharpLink Gaming and two others landed on a watchlist.
Strategy currently holds 840,447 Bitcoin worth roughly $53 billion, while Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC valued at over $2 billion. Both companies have built their corporate identities around accumulating Bitcoin as a primary treasury asset.
A Repeat of Late 2025?
The move echoes a similar consultation MSCI launched in October 2025, which targeted digital asset treasury companies specifically. After fierce industry backlash, MSCI abandoned the plan in January 2026. Strategy shares jumped 6% in after-hours trading on that news.
This time, MSCI has deliberately framed the screen as asset-neutral rather than crypto-specific. The result, however, is the same: Bitcoin treasury firms land on the deletion list. Existing index constituents must fail the screens in two consecutive annual reviews before removal.
JPMorgan analysts estimated that removing Strategy from MSCI indexes could trigger approximately $2.8 billion in passive outflows, with broader contagion effects potentially reaching $11 billion. Strategy pushed back on X, posting that index providers should measure markets, not decide which assets companies are allowed to own.
Sources: The Block; Benzinga; MSCI consultation document; JPMorgan research
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