Strategy Under Fire: Strategy and Metaplanet May Disappear from MSCI Indices
The equity landscape is bracing for a tectonic shift. Based on my data, MSCI — one of the world's key index providers — has launched a consultation process that could radically change the rules of the game for "non-operating" companies. This concerns a project aimed at excluding firms from global indices (GIMI) whose business is built not on manufacturing or services, but on asset ownership.
Modeling conducted as of May 2026 has identified the first candidates for removal: Strategy with its massive bitcoin portfolio, Japan's Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake PLC, which stores physical uranium. This is not just a technical adjustment — it is a signal of how traditional finance is beginning to rethink its attitude toward companies that have turned into quasi-investment funds.
Why this is happening
The mechanics are simple and ruthless. The new rules introduce five financial ratios, including the share of operating assets on the balance sheet, cash flow, and dependence on external financing. If a company fails four out of five tests, it leaves the index. The primary filter — operating assets must account for less than half of the balance sheet — already cuts off Strategy and Metaplanet. Their model, based on issuing shares and bonds to buy up BTC, has nothing in common with a classic operating business.
Metaplanet, which has amassed the world's third-largest corporate bitcoin reserve, has found itself in the same trap. This is only natural: both companies have effectively turned into vehicles for betting on cryptocurrency growth rather than developing their own products.
Softening the blow and monitoring
However, it is not all so clear-cut. MSCI provides for a transition period: for existing participants, the threshold will be softer, and exclusion will occur only after two consecutive failed checks. This gives Strategy and Metaplanet time, but not salvation. Also, SharpLink, with its ether reserves, and other companies that are currently teetering on the edge will be added to the public watchlist.
The consultation will end on September 30, with results announced on October 16. Actual changes will take effect during the index review in November 2026. This decision will set a precedent — other index providers will be watching closely, and thus the fate of "crypto companies" in mainstream finance may be sealed.
My verdict: This is the beginning of the end of an era when public companies could use the stock market as an ATM to accumulate digital assets without regard for classic criteria. Investors should reassess the risks: exclusion from MSCI indices will automatically trigger massive selling by passive funds, putting pressure on the shares of these issuers. The market is entering a phase where the "operating essence" of a business will become the primary measure of its value.