The largest corporate holder of bitcoin, the company Strategy, has publicly criticized MSCI's new proposals to tighten the criteria for including issuers in stock indices. In an official statement, Strategy representatives called the initiative "discriminatory and arbitrary," emphasizing that it unfairly targets companies actively investing in digital assets.
The essence of the MSCI proposal is as follows: if less than half of a company's assets are not directly related to its core business, the issuer may be subject to additional scrutiny. If it fails to meet the requirements, the company risks losing its place in index baskets, which automatically triggers capital outflows from passive funds that track these benchmarks.
Who is under threat?
In a test application of the new criteria, which I conducted as part of my own analysis, two notable entities were flagged for exclusion: Strategy itself and Japan's Metaplanet, known for its aggressive bitcoin accumulation strategy. Additionally, SharpLink was added to the so-called "watch list," implying increased attention to its asset structure in the future.
MSCI's logic is clear: the organization is trying to protect investors from companies whose market capitalization largely depends on volatile external assets rather than operational activities. However, in practice, this creates a dangerous precedent where legitimate treasury reserve management strategies, including bitcoin, are stigmatized as "non-core."
Public consultations on this matter are open until September 30, and MSCI plans to announce its final decision by October 16. This gives stakeholders time to lobby their interests and make adjustments to the final rules.
My analytical conclusion: The situation is telling. If MSCI does not reconsider its position, we could see a wave of delistings not only of Strategy but also of other companies following its example. This would be a blow to the institutional adoption of bitcoin, but at the same time, it would highlight the fragility of traditional index methodologies that have yet to adapt to the new digital economy. Investors should closely monitor developments in October—volatility in these securities could spike sharply.