MSCI's 'Invisible Committee' Accused of Favoring Own Criteria Over Transparency

A Bitcoin policy think tank has questioned how MSCI developed its latest proposal to tighten rules governing its market indexes. The benchmark provider identified companies including Strategy and Metaplanet for potential treatment as 'non-operating businesses' and exclusion from its indexes.

MSCI first proposed excluding digital asset treasury companies from its global indexes in 2025, but shelved the plan after pushback. It returned with a wider proposal on August 3 that could still remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its indexes.

The Bitcoin Policy Institute pointed to metadata showing that the source presentation behind MSCI's consultation was stored in an internal folder for digital asset treasury companies. The finding 'warrants asking whether its broader language carried forward' MSCI's earlier effort to exclude digital asset treasury companies, BPI said.