MSCI announced revised eligibility standards that may see two of the most prominent Bitcoin-holding public companies, Strategy and Metaplanet, removed from its worldwide equity indexes after the close of business on 30 November. The firms will be publicly identified on 11 November, and the change could prompt sizable forced-sale activity by index-tracking funds.

Background to the rule change

MSCI, a leading provider of market benchmarks, finalised the new rules on Thursday, building on proposals introduced in August. The updated framework expands the existing exclusion of pure investment vehicles to any listed company that primarily holds financial assets rather than operating a substantive business. Companies that fail the first-stage assessment of operating assets are subjected to a secondary evaluation based on five financial ratios covering expenses, cash flow, asset-value shifts and reliance on external financing. Falling short on four or more of these metrics disqualifies a firm.

Companies at risk

In a preliminary analysis using data from May 2026, MSCI highlighted three candidates for removal from its ACWI Investable Market Index: Strategy, Metaplanet and uranium-focused Yellow Cake. Strategy, headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, holds the largest public Bitcoin stash—about 848,250 BTC valued at roughly $70 billion. Metaplanet, based in Tokyo, also maintains a sizable Bitcoin position. Both companies fund further purchases by issuing preferred shares, making equity market demand critical to their treasury strategies.

Potential market impact

JPMorgan analysts project that removing Strategy from the index could generate approximately $2.8 billion in outflows from funds that track the benchmark. The share price of Strategy closed at $151.29, a steep decline from its peak of $543 in November 2024, while Metaplanet’s stock traded at 277 yen, far below its high of 1,930 yen in June 2025. The forced sales would affect only the equity securities, not the underlying Bitcoin holdings, but a weaker share price could limit each firm’s ability to raise capital for additional crypto purchases.

How MSCI will enforce the new standards

To minimise turnover, MSCI introduced buffering rules: a company must fail the eligibility screen in both of its two most recent annual filings to be removed. Conversely, a firm outside the index must fail in either of its two latest periods to be barred from entry. The temporary measures introduced in October 2025— which froze share-count adjustments for firms with digital assets comprising 50% or more of total assets— will end, and all affected companies will be judged under the new criteria.

Why it matters

The decision highlights a growing clash between conventional index construction and the rise of firms that treat Bitcoin as a core treasury asset. Passive investors constitute a major source of demand for these stocks; any sustained reduction could tighten the financing channel these companies rely on to expand their crypto holdings. The outcome may also set a precedent for how traditional market benchmarks handle businesses whose balance sheets are dominated by digital assets.