Strategy on the brink: Strategy and Metaplanet may leave the MSCI indices due to new rules
Index provider MSCI has launched consultations on a project that could radically change the composition of global indices. The focus is on the potential exclusion of so-called "non-operating companies"—entities whose business is built not on operational activity, but on asset management. According to a simulation conducted for May 2026, Strategy and Metaplanet are in the crosshairs, as well as Yellow Cake PLC, which holds physical uranium.
What is happening and why it matters
MSCI, one of the key benchmarks for asset managers worldwide, is considering the introduction of five financial ratios to evaluate companies. These include the balance sheet's saturation with operating assets, cash flow, and growth dependence on external financing. If a company fails four out of five tests, it will be excluded from the indices. This is not just a formality: index funds managing trillions of dollars are required to replicate MSCI's composition, which could trigger massive stock sell-offs.
Strategy, with its model of buying up bitcoins, does not meet the new criteria. The company issues shares and bonds not to develop its software business, but to accumulate the leading cryptocurrency. The situation is similar for Metaplanet—the Japanese firm has amassed the world's third-largest corporate BTC reserve using share sales. The filter also triggers for Yellow Cake, which owns uranium but does not conduct operational activities.
Transitional measures and timelines
MSCI proposes a softened threshold for existing index constituents: exclusion will occur only after two consecutive failed reviews. SharpLink, with ETH reserves, will also be added to the public watchlist—it faces exclusion only after a second failure. Consultations will run until September 30, results will be announced on October 16, and changes will take effect during the November 2026 index review.
MSCI's decision could serve as a benchmark for other providers that will need to determine the fate of public companies that have built their financial strategy around digital assets. This is an important signal for the market: institutional standards are beginning to tighten, and companies using cryptocurrencies as the foundation of their business will have to find new ways to comply with traditional listing criteria.
My take: this is just the beginning. If MSCI actually implements such filters, we will see a wave of reassessment in approaches to corporate treasuries. Bitcoin reserves will cease to be a "free" advantage for stocks—investors will have to weigh the risks of index exclusion, which will add volatility to such assets.