MSCI Screen Could Strip Strategy’s 840,447 BTC, Metaplanet’s 43,000 BTC From Indexes

MSCI has opened a new consultation that could remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its Global Investable Market Indexes, putting a combined $55 billion-plus in bitcoin holdings tied to publicly traded stock back in the crosshairs of the world’s largest index provider. Strategy holds 840,447 BTC worth $53.18 billion, while Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC worth more than $2 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data cited in the proposal.

The trigger is a proposed classification for “non-operating companies” that would apply to any firm across MSCI’s indexes, not just crypto treasury holders. But when MSCI ran the screen against its MSCI ACWI IMI Index using company data as of May 2026, three names failed it: Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium holding company Yellow Cake.

How the screen works

The proposed test runs in two stages. A core screen first checks whether a company’s operating assets make up more than 50% of its total assets. Companies that fail this threshold are then measured against five financial ratios, and a company failing at least four of those five ratios would be deemed ineligible for index inclusion.

For bitcoin treasury companies like Strategy and Metaplanet, whose balance sheets are dominated by large BTC holdings rather than traditional operating assets, that structure is precisely what puts them at risk of failing the screen.

A second attempt after an earlier miss

This is not the first time MSCI has targeted bitcoin treasury firms. Both Strategy and Metaplanet previously avoided exclusion under an earlier, crypto-specific MSCI rule that would have used a direct threshold on cryptocurrency holdings rather than broader financial ratios. The new “non-operating company” proposal effectively reopens that question through a different, asset-agnostic mechanism that happens to capture the same two companies.

MSCI is accepting feedback on the proposal through September 30, 2026. Any resulting changes to index composition would not take effect before the November 2026 index review, giving affected companies and index-tracking funds several months of visibility before any potential removal.

Why it matters for holders

Exclusion from MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes matters because passive funds and ETFs that track those benchmarks are contractually required to buy or sell constituents to match the index. A removal of Strategy or Metaplanet would force index-tracking funds to sell their shares, creating forced selling pressure independent of the companies’ underlying bitcoin performance or fundamentals.

For investors who hold Strategy or Metaplanet as an indirect way to gain bitcoin exposure through traditional brokerage or index-fund accounts, the consultation is a reminder that access to these stocks via passive vehicles is not guaranteed. The final rule, and its exact effect on the two companies’ index status, will depend on how MSCI refines the ratio thresholds after the September 30 comment period closes.

Read more: Goldman Sachs Pays Up to $2.25B for NEOS, Inheriting $1.1B Bitcoin ETF Yielding 27%

Sources

• theblock.co
• coindesk.com