Crypto treasuries under fire: Strategy and Metaplanet may disappear from MSCI indices
The world's largest stock index provider, MSCI, has launched a consultation process that could radically change the rules of the game for public companies using corporate treasuries to accumulate digital assets. At the center of attention is a new draft of criteria aimed at excluding so-called "non-operating companies" from the global investable market indices (GIMI). My calculations and preliminary simulations, based on data from May 2026, show that Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Japan's Metaplanet would be the first to be hit. However, the list is not limited to the crypto sector: Yellow Cake PLC, which stores physical uranium, also made the cut.
MSCI, formerly known as Morgan Stanley Capital International, is the benchmark for asset managers worldwide. Index funds tracking these benchmarks are required to replicate their composition, meaning any change in methodology could trigger trillion-dollar capital flows—both buying and selling. In essence, MSCI decides who remains in the "elite club" of global investments and who is forced to leave it.
Who is at risk of exclusion
The draft introduces a second stage of review, including five financial ratios: balance sheet saturation with operating assets, cash flow, and growth dependence on external financing. A company will be excluded if it fails four out of five tests. The key filter triggers when operating assets account for less than half of the balance sheet—this criterion becomes fatal for business models built around buying bitcoin.
Strategy, which issues shares and bonds solely to grow its BTC reserves rather than to develop its software business, clearly does not meet the new requirements. The situation is similar for Metaplanet—the Tokyo-based company, which has amassed the world's third-largest corporate bitcoin reserve through share sales, also fails on operating metrics. This is not just a technical detail—it is a signal that the market is beginning to reassess the very essence of such structures.
Transitional measures and public list
It is important to note that MSCI plans to introduce a softer threshold for existing index members than for new candidates. Exclusion will only occur after two consecutive failed reviews. Additionally, three more companies will join the new public watchlist, including SharpLink with ETH reserves. They failed the latest annual review but remain in the index for now—exclusion only threatens them after a repeat failure.
Yellow Cake, which holds physical uranium and conducts no operating business, violates the same criteria as bitcoin holders, although it has no direct relation to cryptocurrencies. This underscores the systemic nature of the changes: MSCI aims to purge indices of companies that are essentially investment funds rather than operating enterprises.
MSCI's consultation period will end on September 30, results will be announced on October 16, and changes will take effect during the index review in November 2026. This decision could serve as a benchmark for other index providers, which will be forced to determine the fate of public companies that have built their financial strategy around digital assets.
My take: This is only the beginning. If MSCI follows through, we will see a wave of status reviews across the market—from S&P to FTSE. For Strategy and Metaplanet, this is not just a technical risk but an existential challenge to their investment appeal. Investors should prepare for increased volatility in these securities in the coming months.