MSCI has adopted a new framework that will make companies classified as non-operating ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes, introducing a balance-sheet test that could affect major Bitcoin treasury companies including Strategy and Metaplanet. The methodology will take effect with the November 2026 Index Review at the close of trading on November 30.
The immediate impact on individual companies is not yet final. According to Reuters’ October 16 report, Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet appear among companies facing potential deletion, while SharpLink is among firms exposed to future removal. MSCI will publish the definitive list of affected constituents on November 11, meaning the methodology decision itself does not constitute an immediate deletion.
The change broadens a debate that originally focused specifically on digital-asset treasury companies. In January, MSCI decided not to implement a proposal targeting companies whose digital assets represented at least 50% of total assets and instead promised a wider review of businesses resembling passive investment vehicles. The new framework is asset-neutral and applies to corporate issuers based on their financial characteristics rather than whether their treasury consists of Bitcoin, another digital asset or a different investment holding.
MSCI Replaces the 50% Crypto Test
The adopted methodology uses two stages. An initial core screen determines whether a company holds substantial operating assets. Companies failing that test move to an exclusion screen examining five non-industry-specific ratios covering operating-asset intensity, operating expenses, operating cash flow, non-operating fair-value effects and dependence on external capital. A security becomes ineligible when it fails the core screen and is flagged on at least four of the five financial ratios.
MSCI has also introduced buffers to reduce unnecessary index turnover. A company already inside an MSCI GIMI index will be removed only if it fails the ineligibility screen across both of its two most recent annual filing periods, although MSCI may incorporate a more recent interim filing when available. Companies outside the indexes face a stricter entry standard because failure in either of their two most recent annual periods can prevent addition.
That framework is particularly relevant to companies whose balance sheets have become dominated by investment assets financed through capital markets. Strategy has repeatedly funded Bitcoin purchases through common equity, convertible debt and preferred securities, including large purchases financed through its Stretch preferred stock structure. Metaplanet has similarly used equity and warrant structures to finance additional Bitcoin accumulation. Those financing models are precisely the type of balance-sheet characteristics that make the new capital-dependence screen consequential.
Strategy Faces Potential Passive Selling
MSCI’s August simulation using May 2026 data indicated that Strategy, Metaplanet and UK-listed uranium investment company Yellow Cake would have been deleted from the MSCI ACWI IMI under the proposed methodology. That simulation demonstrated exposure to the framework, but it was not the final November index review.
The potential market impact is concentrated most heavily in Strategy because of its size and inclusion in the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes. Reuters reports that Strategy previously estimated an MSCI removal could result in approximately $2.8 billion of its shares being sold, as passive vehicles tracking affected benchmarks rebalance their portfolios. The figure is an estimate rather than a guaranteed outflow and depends on index weights, fund holdings and market conditions at implementation.
A larger $8.8 billion figure cited in earlier analysis refers to a different scenario in which other index providers also excluded Strategy. It should not be presented as the upper end of an MSCI-only forced-selling estimate. MSCI itself has not published a forecast of how much Strategy stock would have to be sold under the newly adopted methodology.
The rule arrives as corporate Bitcoin accumulation has already slowed, with treasury companies adding substantially less BTC in recent months. Index eligibility introduces another consideration because companies dependent on frequent equity issuance can be sensitive to changes in passive ownership and market liquidity.
The next decisive event is the November 11 index review announcement, not the adoption of the methodology itself. That release will establish which current constituents actually fail the finalized screen, while November 30 will determine when any resulting deletions and passive portfolio rebalancing become effective.
