Strategy on the edge: Strategy and Metaplanet may leave the MSCI indices due to new rules
The largest bitcoin holders among public companies — Strategy and Metaplanet — risk being excluded from the global MSCI indices. The reason is a new consultation proposal aimed at filtering out "non-operating" companies whose business model is built around investments rather than operational activities.
MSCI, one of the leading stock index providers, is considering tightening the selection criteria for components of its global indices (GIMI). According to a simulation conducted for May 2026, after the new rules are implemented, Strategy and Metaplanet will be excluded from the indices. Also on the exit list is Yellow Cake PLC — a company that stores physical uranium.
The essence of the innovations is the introduction of five financial ratios, including the sufficiency of operating assets, cash flow, and the dependence of growth on external financing. A company will be excluded if it fails four out of five tests. This is effectively a filter that weeds out firms that function as investment funds rather than operating businesses.
The first stage of the check is the ratio of operating assets to the balance sheet. If it is below 50%, the company moves to the second stage. Both bitcoin companies fall under this rule. Strategy, which builds its model on issuing shares and bonds to buy up BTC, and Metaplanet, which raised the third-largest corporate bitcoin reserve in the world through share sales, clearly do not meet the "operational" criteria.
Transitional measures and public list
MSCI plans to soften the threshold for existing index members compared to new candidates. Exclusion will only occur after two consecutive failed checks. Three more companies will be added to a new public watchlist, including SharpLink with ETH reserves. They failed the last annual check, but exclusion only threatens them after a repeated failure.
Yellow Cake, which owns physical uranium and conducts no operational activities, violates the same criteria as bitcoin holders, although it has nothing to do with the crypto market. MSCI's consultation period will end on September 30, results will be announced on October 16, and the changes will take effect during the index review in November 2026.
MSCI's decision could become a benchmark for other index providers that will have to determine the fate of public companies that have built their financial strategy around digital assets.
My analysis: This is a signal the market has long awaited. Institutional investors tied to indices will be forced to reconsider their positions in such companies, which could create short-term pressure on their shares. However, for long-term bitcoin holders, this is more of a reminder that the corporate strategy of accumulating BTC is a double-edged sword: it brings profits in a bull market but makes the company vulnerable to regulatory and structural changes in traditional finance.