Strategy under fire: Strategy and Metaplanet may disappear from MSCI indices due to new rules
The financial world is on the brink of significant change. Global index provider MSCI has launched a consultation process that could radically alter the composition of its benchmark stock indices. The matter concerns the potential exclusion of so-called "non-operating companies" — entities whose business is built not on production or services, but on asset management. My latest calculations, based on simulation data for May 2026, show that digital economy giants such as Strategy and Metaplanet would be the first to fall under this filter.
For those unfamiliar with the mechanics: MSCI is not just a ratings compiler. It is a compass for asset managers worldwide. Funds that track MSCI indices are obligated to replicate their composition. Any change in selection criteria triggers automatic purchases or sales of shares worth trillions of dollars. Therefore, MSCI's new project is not a bureaucratic formality, but a direct signal to the market.
The essence of the new requirements
The project proposes introducing five financial ratios for testing, including the share of operating assets on the balance sheet, cash flow, and the dependence of growth on external financing. A company would be excluded if it fails four out of five tests. The main goal is to filter out entities that function as investment funds rather than as going concerns.
The first stage of the filter is obvious: if operating assets account for less than half of the balance sheet, the company moves to the second stage of review. Strategy, with its aggressive bitcoin accumulation strategy, fits this definition perfectly. Issuing shares and bonds to buy BTC is not software business development, but purely investment activity. The same fate awaits Japan's Metaplanet, which raised the world's third-largest corporate bitcoin reserve through share sales. Notably, Yellow Cake PLC, which holds physical uranium, also made this list — its business model is no different from crypto holdings, although it has no direct relation to digital assets.
Mitigating circumstances and timelines
However, not everything is so clear-cut. MSCI plans to introduce a softer threshold for existing index members than for newcomers. Exclusion would only occur after two consecutive failed reviews. Moreover, three other companies, including SharpLink with ETH reserves, would be placed on a special public watchlist. They failed the annual review, but exclusion would only threaten them after a second failure.
The consultation period will end on September 30, with results announced on October 16. If a decision is made, changes would take effect during the November 2026 index review.
My analysis: This is a landmark moment for the entire industry. MSCI's decision could become a trigger for reassessing attitudes toward companies that use digital assets as the basis of their capitalization. Exclusion from indices would deprive them of passive investment inflows and could provoke a wave of selling. However, I also see a positive signal in this: the market is beginning to separate the wheat from the chaff, and companies will have to prove their operational viability rather than simply accumulate assets. This is a step toward maturity that, in the long term, will strengthen institutional investors' confidence in the crypto sector.