MSCI’s new rules put Strategy, Metaplanet at risk

MSCI has adopted new eligibility rules for its global stock indexes, putting Bitcoin treasury companies Strategy (MSTR) and Metaplanet (3350) at risk of removal when the changes take effect after the November 30, 2026, close.

MSCI confirmed on October 15 that companies classified as non-operating businesses will no longer qualify for its Global Investable Market Indexes. The index provider will release its final list of potentially affected companies on November 11, leaving their eligibility unresolved until the review is announced.

The decision follows an August consultation that identified Strategy and Japan-based Metaplanet as potential deletions in a simulation using May 2026 data. Ethereum treasury company SharpLink (SBET) appeared on a watchlist, while U.K. uranium investment company Yellow Cake was among the firms flagged for removal. MSCI has not confirmed that the simulated deletions will appear in the November review.

MSCI index rules introduce two tests for company eligibility

Under the approved methodology, MSCI will first examine whether a company holds substantial operating assets. Companies that fail this initial assessment will face a second screening process involving five financial ratios, with exclusion triggered when at least four of those tests are flagged.

The screening is intended to identify companies whose financial characteristics resemble investment vehicles instead of operating businesses. In its August consultation, MSCI proposed extending existing restrictions on investment funds, business development companies and other passive investment vehicles to corporate issuers with similar financial characteristics.

The rules contain a separate condition for companies already included in MSCI indexes. An existing constituent must fail the exclusion screening in each of its two most recent annual filing periods before removal. MSCI may consider the most recent interim financial filing when available.

For companies seeking entry into an index, a failure in either of their two most recent annual filing periods can prevent inclusion. MSCI said the thresholds and timing requirements contain buffers designed to reduce frequent changes to index membership. The final methodology includes minor modifications to the August proposal, though the October announcement did not detail each adjustment.

Strategy and Metaplanet were flagged in an earlier MSCI review

The May simulation placed Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake among companies that would have been removed from the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index using the proposed screening method. Strategy had a free-float-adjusted market capitalization of approximately $23.93 billion in the exercise, compared with $654 million for Metaplanet and $1.81 billion for Yellow Cake. Those figures describe the earlier simulation, not their current market valuations.

SharpLink, Taiwan’s Center Laboratories and Turkey’s Lydia Holding were assigned to a potential watchlist in the same exercise. The watchlist classification reflected companies that had met the screening conditions in their latest filing period without meeting the requirements for immediate removal. The exercise used historical financial information and did not establish their final status under the adopted rules.

For Strategy, the MSCI announcement arrives as the Michael Saylor-founded company continues accumulating Bitcoin. Its October 12 disclosure confirmed the purchase of 250 BTC for approximately $21.5 million during the previous week, raising total holdings to 848,250 BTC. The company spent $192.4 million repurchasing its STRC preferred shares during the same period.

The transactions were covered in a recent report on Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases and preferred stock buybacks. Its reported Bitcoin holdings carried an aggregate acquisition cost of approximately $64 billion, including fees and related expenses, as of October 11.

In Japan, Metaplanet has continued expanding its Bitcoin treasury while pursuing investments intended to generate recurring income. According to its capital allocation policy reported in October, the company plans to retain approximately 85% to 90% of total assets in Bitcoin and allocate the remainder to other investments. Metaplanet held 44,000 BTC at the end of September, as detailed in its revised Bitcoin treasury and borrowing policy.

Strategy disputes MSCI’s treatment of Bitcoin treasury companies

Strategy has publicly opposed the methodology, arguing that MSCI’s proposed classification does not properly recognize its Bitcoin treasury operations. In its response to the consultation, the company described the proposal as “misguided” and maintained that the classification of operating and non-operating companies lacked a basis in established accounting standards.

The company argued that the rules could unfairly target digital asset treasury companies, despite being written to apply to different types of corporate issuers. Strategy maintained that its Bitcoin business qualifies as an operating segment under U.S. accounting principles and questioned MSCI’s authority to exclude it using the proposed classification.

On the potential effect of removal, Strategy estimated that funds tracking MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes held approximately 13 million of its shares. The company said the position represented 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding and less than one average trading day’s volume.

Those figures were part of Strategy’s opposition to the proposal, not an independent assessment of future selling. The company argued that the exclusion “would not meaningfully affect Strategy,” while continuing to object to MSCI’s classification method.

In an earlier consultation, MSCI had considered restrictions involving companies whose digital asset holdings represented at least 50% of their total assets. The index provider subsequently moved to a company screening framework that applies financial tests without naming a particular asset class.

MSCI sets November 11 for final list of affected companies

The October decision establishes the timetable for implementing the new methodology. MSCI will announce the final list of potentially affected constituents on November 11, as part of its scheduled index review, before the changes take effect at the close of trading on November 30.

At the same time, MSCI will discontinue temporary measures introduced in October 2025 for companies identified as holding digital assets worth at least 50% of total assets. Those measures had restricted increases in index share counts and certain inclusion factors, while delaying additions and movements between index size categories.

Companies previously covered by the temporary measures will instead be evaluated using the newly adopted non-operating company methodology. MSCI confirmed that the replacement applies to the entire affected group, with eligibility determined by the operating-assets and financial-ratio screens.

The original consultation began on August 3 and accepted market feedback through September 30. MSCI announced the results on October 15, ahead of its October 16 deadline, and retained the two-period screening requirement for existing constituents.

For companies that fail the November review, MSCI’s implementation timetable specifies the November 30 close as the effective point for index changes. The provider’s announcement permits further notices if needed before implementation.