MSCI has finalized index eligibility rules that could place Strategy and other digital-asset treasury companies at risk of removal from some of its equity indexes during the November review, creating a defined timetable for one of the market’s most closely watched index decisions this year.
The index provider said it will publish a final list of companies potentially affected by the methodology on Nov. 11. That publication will offer the clearest indication of whether Strategy, the Bitcoin-focused company led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and Chief Executive Officer Phong Le, faces exclusions from MSCI benchmarks followed by index-tracking funds.
The revised approach replaces an interim proposal that drew attention for targeting companies whose digital asset holdings accounted for at least 50% of total assets. MSCI’s final rules instead assess whether a company has sufficient operating assets and apply five financial ratios intended to distinguish operating businesses from firms primarily holding financial or other non-operating assets.
A two-year test for existing index members
MSCI’s methodology draws a sharp line between companies seeking entry into an index and those already included.
A company that is not currently an MSCI constituent will be barred from addition if it fails the ineligibility screen in either of its two most recent annual reporting periods. Existing index members receive a more gradual test: they can be removed only if they fail the screen in both of their two most recent annual reporting periods.
MSCI may also consider a company’s latest interim filing when it is available. That provision gives the index provider flexibility to incorporate more recent financial information rather than relying exclusively on annual reports that may be months old.
The firm also plans to apply buffers around eligibility thresholds and around the timing of additions and removals. Such buffers are designed to reduce turnover caused by small movements around a cutoff, a practical concern for index funds that must trade shares when benchmark memberships change.
For companies with treasury strategies centered on Bitcoin, Ethereum or other digital assets, the rules place unusual weight on balance-sheet construction. A firm can maintain a listed operating business, but a sufficiently large concentration of non-operating holdings could become decisive under MSCI’s screens.
Strategy is under scrutiny after expanding its Bitcoin reserve
Strategy is likely to attract the greatest attention when MSCI releases its Nov. 11 list. The company has built its corporate strategy around accumulating Bitcoin, financed through a combination of operating cash flow and capital-markets transactions.
According to Strategy’s latest public purchase announcement cited in the supplied material, the company acquired another 1,665 Bitcoin for $142.7 million, raising its corporate reserve to 847,666 Bitcoin. The scale of that treasury makes Strategy a particularly prominent test case for a methodology aimed at companies where non-operating assets dominate the balance sheet.
Saylor and Le addressed MSCI’s proposal earlier this year, and Strategy subsequently sent the index provider a letter in September. Their engagement reflected concern that a classification designed for holding companies or asset-heavy entities could also affect companies that describe Bitcoin accumulation as central to their corporate strategy.
The outcome matters beyond the company’s own shareholder base. MSCI indexes are used as benchmarks by asset managers and are tracked by passive funds. If a company is removed from an index, funds that replicate that benchmark may need to sell its shares during a rebalance, although the volume depends on each fund’s mandate, tracking method and discretion.
A removal would not prevent active funds, individual traders or other shareholders from continuing to own the stock. It would instead change the company’s position within portfolios designed to follow a particular MSCI benchmark.
Earlier simulation named several treasury-focused companies
A May 2026 simulation of MSCI’s earlier proposal identified Strategy, Japan’s Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, a uranium-focused investment company, under a screen aimed at businesses holding predominantly non-operating assets.
The inclusion of Yellow Cake showed that the issue extends beyond cryptocurrency. MSCI’s methodology is framed around the role of operating assets in a company’s financial profile, which means the rules may capture businesses whose principal activity involves accumulating a commodity, digital asset or other investment asset rather than producing goods or delivering services.
Ethereum treasury company SharpLink could also fall within the framework, according to the supplied material. As more listed companies adopt digital-asset treasury strategies, index eligibility has become a structural consideration alongside token price exposure, financing costs and share dilution.
The financial-ratio approach may create different outcomes for companies that can demonstrate substantial operating revenue, active business assets or a more diversified balance sheet. It could also make eligibility less predictable for firms whose asset mix changes quickly after large token purchases or capital raises.
November review will turn a methodology debate into portfolio action
The Nov. 11 publication is expected to move the debate from a proposed classification issue to a company-specific assessment. MSCI’s November index review will then determine whether the new framework produces removals and, if so, which benchmarks are affected.
The finalized rules do not establish that Strategy will be excluded. They establish the tests MSCI will use and the review process through which any decision would be implemented. Strategy’s status will depend on the provider’s application of the operating-asset screens, financial ratios and filing-history requirements.
For digital-asset treasury companies, the episode shows how rapidly expanding token reserves can influence more than a company’s market valuation. A balance sheet designed to maximize exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum can also alter how an index provider categorizes the underlying business, affecting its access to passive equity allocations even when its shares remain publicly traded.
Track how MSCI’s index review could reshape crypto exposure—read today’s MSCI review market insight for traders.
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