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MSCI, the firm whose indexes quietly dictate where trillions of dollars in passive investment flows end up, wants to kick out companies whose primary business model is buying and holding Bitcoin.
A new consultation proposal from the index provider would classify firms like Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Metaplanet, and uranium holding company Yellow Cake as “non-operating companies,” making them ineligible for inclusion in MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes.
How the screening works
MSCI’s proposed methodology uses a two-step process. First, companies are evaluated on “operational asset intensity,” essentially measuring whether a firm’s balance sheet reflects an actual operating business or just a pile of accumulated assets. Companies that trip that first wire then face a gauntlet of five financial ratios designed to assess whether they generate revenue the old-fashioned way.
Fail four out of five, and you’re out.
A simulation MSCI ran in May 2026 projected exactly three companies getting the boot from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index: Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake PLC. All three companies exist primarily to raise capital and use it to accumulate a single non-operational asset, whether that’s Bitcoin or uranium.
Strategy currently holds approximately 840,447 BTC, with a projected free-float adjusted market cap of roughly $23.93 billion. Metaplanet holds around 43,000 BTC with an estimated market cap of approximately $654 million. Yellow Cake, which stockpiles physical uranium rather than crypto, sits at about $1.81 billion in market cap.
The consultation period runs until September 30, 2026, with MSCI expected to publish its final decision by October 16. If adopted, the changes would take effect no earlier than the November 2026 index review.
The passive fund problem
When a stock sits in a major MSCI index, every passive fund and ETF tracking that index is required to hold it. Remove the stock, and those funds mechanically sell their positions. For a company like Strategy, with nearly $24 billion in free-float adjusted market cap, forced selling from passive vehicles could create meaningful downward pressure on the stock price.
This isn’t MSCI’s first attempt at drawing a line around crypto-treasury firms. A previous proposal targeting digital asset treasury companies specifically was shelved back in January 2026. The new approach is broader, sweeping in any company, crypto or otherwise, that functions more like a holding vehicle than an operating business.
What the reclassification actually means
MSCI is building in some guardrails to prevent whiplash. Existing index constituents get a buffer period: they’d need to fail the screening criteria across two consecutive annual filings before being removed. New candidates for index inclusion, however, face the stricter standard immediately.
Strategy generates some software revenue from its legacy MicroStrategy business, but its stock price, capital raises, and investor thesis are almost entirely driven by its Bitcoin holdings. Michael Saylor’s entire pitch has been that Strategy offers shareholders “intelligent leverage” to Bitcoin. MSCI’s proposal essentially agrees with that characterization and concludes that leveraged asset vehicles don’t belong in operating-company indexes.
Investors watching this space should keep an eye on September 30, when the consultation closes, and October 16, when MSCI plans to announce its decision. The November index review would be the earliest implementation date.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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