Months after avoiding the index provider’s crypto-specific exclusion rule, leading publicly traded bitcoin holding companies Strategy and Metaplanet are once again under scrutiny by MSCI.
This month, the financial giant launched a new survey with the goal of identifying and removing “non-operating companies” from its Global Investable Market Indexes. Instead of using a threshold for cryptocurrency ownership, the proposed categorization would be based on five financial parameters.
Three firms Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake would have been eliminated from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index if the suggested filter had been implemented based on the companies’ cryptocurrency holdings as of May 2026.
Source: msci.com
According to statistics from Bitcoin Treasuries, Nasdaq-listed Strategy has gradually amassed 840,447 BTC ($53.18 billion) since 2020, making it the biggest publicly traded bitcoin holding company. Metaplanet, a Tokyo-listed company, has acquired 43,000 BTC, or more than $2 billion. Yellow Cake is also mentioned, however it owns uranium rather than bitcoin.
A core screen that determines if a company’s running assets make up more than 50% of its total assets is the first step in the procedure. If it does, no more investigation is carried out.
If it doesn’t work, it proceeds to an exclusion screen that makes the ultimate decision based on five ratios: operational asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value intensity, and capital reliance. If a firm fails four of the five test ratios, it cannot be included in the index.
The list of “non-operating companies not fit for index inclusion” provided by MSCI resembles a list of bitcoin treasury corporations without any names.
According to MSCI, these companies “create value by accumulating and holding non-operating assets,” produce little revenue from real activities, and rely on outside funding rather than their own operations to expand. Based on their most recent single file, companies who are not yet included in the index must meet the more stringent requirements.
An previous consultation, which was launched in October 2025, was intended for “digital asset treasury” organizations, that is, firms with at least 50% of their assets in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. 39 firms were mentioned in the plan, which caused industry outrage and instability in the cryptocurrency market. In the end, the idea was postponed.
The results will be released approximately two weeks later, on October 16, after MSCI has requested input from market players till September 30. If the plan is approved at all, it has said that any ensuing modifications will be incorporated into the November 2026 index review.
MSCI Proposal Could Remove Strategy and Metaplanet From Global Indexes
MSCI is consulting on proposed changes to the eligibility of non-operating companies for its Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI). A simulation using May 2026 data shows that Strategy (MSTR), Yellow Cake… pic.twitter.com/qqPjYOidIf
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 14, 2026
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