MSCI Puts Strategy and Metaplanet Back on the Chopping Block
MSCI wants to take a tougher look at non-operating companies, which could also push bitcoin treasury firms like Strategy and Metaplanet out of major indexes. The consultation runs through September 30.
Key Takeaways
- MSCI is proposing new rules that could keep non-operating companies out of indexes based on five financial ratios.
- According to a test using May 2026 data, Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake would have been removed from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index.
- MSCI is asking for feedback through September 30 and will announce the final outcome around October 16.
MSCI has put forward another proposal that could affect large Bitcoin treasury companies. Under the new approach, Strategy and Metaplanet could disappear from several indexes, while this time the index provider is no longer looking directly at the percentage of crypto on the balance sheet, but at broader signs of a non-operating company.
New Test for Index Access
This month’s consultation focuses on so-called non-operating companies within MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes. Instead of a simple threshold for crypto holdings, MSCI wants to use five financial ratios to decide whether a company still fits within the index structure.
The first step is a core screen: if operating assets make up more than 50 percent of total assets, no further review follows. If a company falls below that, it moves into a second phase where operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value intensity, and capital dependence are taken into account. Anyone that fails four of the five tests is excluded.
MSCI describes this category as companies that create value by building up and holding non-operating assets, generate little cash from real operations, and rely on outside capital for growth. In the text, that reads almost like a profile of bitcoin treasury companies, without naming that group directly.
Strategy and Metaplanet Hit
If MSCI had applied the proposed screen to the MSCI ACWI IMI Index based on crypto positions as of May 2026, Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake would have been removed. Strategy has built up a total of 840,447 BTC since 2020, worth $53.18 billion (€46.1 billion), making it the largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet bought 43,000 BTC, worth more than $2 billion (€1.7 billion).
Strategy and Metaplanet have already drawn attention several times in recent weeks because of the impact of their Bitcoin positions on their balance sheets. In a recent market round, both companies also posted steep paper losses on their BTC holdings, which further fueled the debate over their profile as treasury companies.
Yellow Cake is also on the list, but that company holds uranium instead of Bitcoin. For investors, that shows MSCI wants to apply the new rules more broadly than just to crypto-focused companies.
What This Means for Indexes
The move fits into a broader trend where index providers are tightening their criteria to better align with ESG goals. For European crypto followers, that matters because being included in major indexes does not just affect visibility, but can also influence passive flows and the way publicly traded Bitcoin vehicles are judged.
This is not a final decision yet. MSCI is asking market participants for feedback through September 30 and will announce the outcome around October 16. If the proposal is adopted, the changes would be included in the November 2026 index review.
