Strategy Asks Shareholders to Email MSCI After Bitcoin Firm’s Index Removal

• Strategy is asking shareholders to email MSCI and push back on its new index rule.
• MSCI will remove Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake from key indexes on December 1.
• Strategy says MSCI-tracking funds hold about 13 million shares, or 3.1% of its stock.
• JPMorgan earlier estimated up to $2.8 billion in selling, with $8.8 billion at risk.
• Strategy shares fell between 2.5% and 2.9% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

Strategy is asking its shareholders to email MSCI after the index provider confirmed it will drop the company’s stock from key benchmarks. The company called MSCI’s new eligibility test “misguided” and urged the index provider to withdraw it.

MSCI said on Wednesday that it will remove Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake from its global indexes. The changes take effect on December 1, after the market closes on November 30.

The index provider found that these companies look more like investment funds than operating businesses. MSCI excludes companies with fund-type traits from its benchmarks.

Strategy Disputes the Impact

Strategy argues that its removal will matter less than many investors fear. The company said funds tracking MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes hold about 13 million of its shares.

That equals about 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding. Strategy said the stake is less than one day of trading, or roughly 60% of its 30-day average daily volume.

This view differs from earlier estimates by JPMorgan. The bank said an MSCI exclusion could lead to about $2.8 billion in selling of Strategy stock, with another $8.8 billion at risk if other index providers followed.

Those figures were based on MSCI’s earlier proposal, not the final rule. Strategy itself warned last year that an exclusion would force $2.8 billion of its stock to be sold and would “chill” the industry.

Strategy also challenges the terms MSCI uses. The company said “operating” and “non-operating” are not defined under US GAAP, IFRS or any recognized legal framework.

Strategy said its Bitcoin business is reported as an operating segment under US GAAP, in line with its talks with SEC staff. It argued that MSCI’s approach risks hurting the neutrality expected of a benchmark provider.

MSCI just confirmed it. Strategy is out of its global indexes.

The reason?
A new "non-operating company" rule.
If most of your balance sheet is an asset you hold instead of a business you run, you don't qualify.

Holding Bitcoin isn't a business, according to MSCI.

They tried a… pic.twitter.com/gqHyro8RjZ

— Learning Crypto (@learningcrypto) November 11, 2026

How MSCI’s Test Works

MSCI’s revised framework does not name Bitcoin or crypto directly. It first checks whether operating assets make up at least 50% of a company’s total assets.

Companies below that level then face five financial tests. These cover operating asset intensity, expense intensity, operating cash flow, non-operating fair value changes and capital dependence.

A current index member must fail the screen in its two most recent annual filing periods to be removed. Strategy argues the new rule repeats MSCI’s earlier plan to exclude firms holding 50% or more of their assets in digital assets.

The review also caught Yellow Cake, a UK-based uranium investment company. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet, which buys and holds Bitcoin, was dropped from the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index. Ethereum treasury firm SharpLink was placed on MSCI’s watchlist.

Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, built its business by issuing debt and equity to buy Bitcoin. Its shares have fallen about 20% this year, while Bitcoin is down about 15%.

The index removal does not delist Strategy from the Nasdaq. It also does not require the company to sell any of its Bitcoin.

Strategy shares closed at $122.35 on Wednesday, up about 1% for the day. Reuters reported a 2.5% drop in extended trading after the decision, while Yahoo Finance data showed the stock near $118.75 overnight, down about 2.9%.