MSCI Index Exclusion Threat Looms Over Corporate Bitcoin Buyers

The Market Institute for Standardization and Research (MSCI) has announced a new proposal to exclude 'non-operating companies' from its global indices, which includes companies with significant digital asset holdings. The move is seen as a structural risk to the ecosystem of corporate Bitcoin treasuries.

In October 2025, MSCI proposed excluding companies with digital assets representing 50% or more of total assets from its indices. Although no action was taken at that time, the market reacted violently, with Bitcoin prices plummeting by $17,000 in just 48 hours.

The new proposal uses a two-stage filter to identify 'non-operating companies.' The first stage checks if a company's operating assets represent more than 50% of total assets. If not, a second stage applies five financial exclusion ratios, including operating asset intensity and expense intensity.

Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin buyer, would be removed from MSCI indices under the new proposal. This could lead to forced selling by passive funds tracking those indices, reducing Strategy's premium over its net asset value (NAV) and limiting its ability to access capital markets.