MSCI has finalized index-eligibility rules that could remove bitcoin-treasury companies Strategy and Metaplanet from its Global Investable Market Indexes, with the affected firms to be named on Nov. 11 and the change taking effect after the market close on Nov. 30.

The rules, first proposed in August and confirmed Thursday, deem companies that primarily hold investments rather than operate a substantive business ineligible for inclusion. The decision matters for a mechanical reason: passive funds that track MSCI indexes must buy a stock when it is added and must sell when it is removed, regardless of what portfolio managers think of the company.

JPMorgan analysts estimate that Strategy's exclusion could trigger roughly $2.8 billion in outflows from MSTR stock. That forced selling would affect the shares, not the company's bitcoin — but it could tighten the equity-issuance window Strategy relies on to fund further purchases.

What does this change for bitcoin-treasury companies?

For practitioners, the question is straightforward: passive capital has become a significant source of demand for these stocks, and any sustained reduction in that bid raises funding costs for a business model built on issuing equity and preferred shares to accumulate bitcoin.

"The MSCI episode highlights a growing tension between traditional index construction and the rise of companies that treat Bitcoin as a core treasury asset rather than a secondary holding," decentralized infrastructure network ZEROBASE said on X. "Passive capital has become an important source of demand for these stocks; any sustained reduction in that bid could tighten the equity-issuance window that several of them rely on to fund further purchases."

The exposure is largest for Strategy, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company that is the biggest publicly listed bitcoin holder, with 848,250 BTC worth about $69.67 billion, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. The company typically funds purchases by selling preferred shares such as STRC and STRK. MSTR closed at $151.29 on Thursday, down roughly 72% from its record high of $543 in November 2024.

Tokyo-based Metaplanet (3350), which closed at 277 yen ($1.75) on Friday, peaked at 1,930 yen in June 2025, according to TradingView.

How the new screen works

MSCI already excludes investment funds and similar vehicles. The new rules extend that treatment to operating companies that resemble them, using a two-step test:

• Step one: MSCI checks whether a company holds substantial operating assets — assets tied to a real business.
• Step two: If it fails, the company faces five financial ratios covering expenses, cash flow, changes in asset values and reliance on outside financing. Failure on four or more of the five ratios renders it ineligible.

To limit index churn, MSCI added buffers. A member is removed only if it fails the screen in each of its two most recent annual filing periods. A company outside the index is blocked from joining if it fails in either of its two most recent periods.

In a test run using May 2026 data, MSCI flagged three companies for possible removal from its ACWI Investable Market Index: Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, a U.K. uranium investment company.

The temporary digital-asset measures end

MSCI is also retiring the temporary measures it announced in October 2025 for companies whose digital assets account for 50% or more of total assets. Those measures froze increases in the share counts used in the index and postponed additions and size-segment moves for the affected companies. From the November review onward, such firms will be assessed under the new framework instead.

Strategy's founder, Michael Saylor, has consistently described the company as an operating business with a software arm, treating its bitcoin treasury as a distinct business segment, and has rejected comparisons with investment funds. The company, originally MicroStrategy, sells business intelligence software to clients including Coca-Cola and Porsche.

The market will learn the final composition of the exclusion list on Nov. 11, with index-tracking funds rebalancing after the close on Nov. 30 — the effective deadline for passive investors holding MSTR and Metaplanet exposure to reposition.