Strategy Urges MSCI to Withdraw Proposed Screen That Would Remove Bitcoin Treasury Company From Global Indexes
Quick Look
- Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) have asked MSCI to withdraw a proposed eligibility screen that would remove the Bitcoin treasury company from its Global Investable Market Indexes, arguing the test is discriminatory and arbitrary.
- The screen, which evaluates non-operating companies using five financial flags, would also affect UK uranium holder Yellow Cake and Japan's Metaplanet, with MSCI estimating three deletions from the ACWI IMI as of May 2026.
- Strategy claims it accounts for 87% of the float-adjusted market capitalization at stake and warns the proposal could trigger billions in outflows if adopted by other index providers.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
MSCI opened a consultation in August on eligibility criteria for 'non-operating companies,' proposing a screen based on five financial ratios where tripping four flags renders a company ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes. The proposal follows MSCI's earlier rejection of a 50% crypto-holdings threshold in January.
In brief
Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le asked MSCI on Monday to withdraw a proposed screen that would remove Strategy from its Global Investable Market Indexes.
The screen flags issuers on five financial ratios, and tripping four of them makes a company ineligible for inclusion.
MSCI's consultation lists UK uranium holder Yellow Cake among the three companies facing deletion, alongside Strategy and Metaplanet.
Strategy founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le have asked MSCI to withdraw a proposed eligibility test that would delete the Bitcoin treasury company from the index provider's global benchmarks, in a letter published Monday.
The proposal is "discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided," the letter stated, arguing that it serves as a pretext for targeting digital asset treasuries and repackages the 50% crypto-holdings proposal MSCI declined to implement in January.
The consultation, opened in August, covers what MSCI terms "non-operating companies." Issuers whose operating assets fall below half of total assets face a five-flag screen measuring operating asset intensity, expenses, cash flow, fair-value swings and dependence on external financing. Tripping four flags renders a company ineligible, and existing constituents must fail in two consecutive annual reviews before deletion.
MSCI's consultation puts the impact of the screen, applied to the ACWI IMI as of May 2026, at three deletions: Strategy, with a float-adjusted market capitalization of $23.93 billion; UK uranium holder Yellow Cake at $1.81 billion; and Japan's Metaplanet at $654 million. Three more would go on a public watchlist—Ethereum treasury SharpLink, Taiwan's Center Laboratories and Turkey's Lydia Holding.
Strategy's letter names only the three crypto companies among that group, and says Strategy accounts for roughly 87% of the float-adjusted market capitalization at stake across all six.
Strategy and MSCI
The Bitcoin treasury company's second-quarter 10-Q, filed August 3, defines its Bitcoin treasury operations as a separate reportable operating segment, and the firm books Bitcoin fair-value changes within operating expenses. On that treatment, the letter argues, Strategy trips neither the expense flag nor the fair-value flag.
Saylor and Le also play down the stakes, writing that the proposal would have no meaningful impact on Strategy's business while "profoundly" harming MSCI's reputation as a neutral index provider. The campaign page hosting the letter puts funds tracking GIMI indexes at 3.1% of basic shares. JPMorgan analysts estimated in November 2025 that MSCI exclusion could drive $2.8 billion in outflows, rising to $11.6 billion if other index providers followed.
The two executives made a similar appeal in December, when they warned MSCI that excluding crypto treasuries would harm U.S. national security.
Monday's letter closes by asking MSCI to place a legal hold on all documents relating to the test's development.
Feedback closes September 30, with results due by October 16 and any changes taking effect in the November index review.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
MSCI will maintain the proposed screen but may adjust thresholds following feedback
Possible · Within weeks
If implemented, the screen will trigger outflows from index funds tracking MSCI GIMI indexes
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will MSCI revise its proposal in response to Strategy's letter?
- How will other index providers react if MSCI implements the screen?
- What legal basis does Strategy have to request a hold on MSCI's internal documents?
