Key facts
- MSCI has proposed new rules that could exclude companies holding significant non-operating assets, such as major Bitcoin treasury firms, from its Global Investable Market Indexes.
- The proposed exclusion criteria involve a two-step screen: first, checking if operating assets exceed 50% of total assets, and second, evaluating five financial ratios.
- Companies failing at least four of the five financial ratios would be deemed ineligible for index inclusion.
- MicroStrategy, Metaplanet, and uranium holder Yellow Cake could be removed from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index if the proposal is adopted.
- MicroStrategy has formally objected to the proposal, arguing that digital assets are legitimate assets and MSCI should not dictate corporate holdings.
Index provider MSCI has initiated a new consultation that could lead to the exclusion of companies considered "non-operating," a category that may encompass major Bitcoin treasury firms like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet, from its Global Investable Market Indexes. The proposed rules involve a two-step screening process. The first step checks if a company's operating assets constitute more than 50% of its total assets. If this condition is not met, the company proceeds to a second exclusion screen that evaluates five financial ratios: operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value intensity, and capital dependence. A company would be deemed ineligible for index inclusion if it fails at least four of these five ratios.
Simulation results based on May 2026 data flag MicroStrategy, Metaplanet, and UK uranium holding company Yellow Cake PLC for deletion from the MSCI ACWI IMI. MicroStrategy, the largest publicly listed Bitcoin holder with 175,000 BTC, and Metaplanet, with 43,000 BTC, are specifically mentioned as potentially affected. MicroStrategy has pushed back against the proposed methodology, stating that digital assets are assets and index providers should measure markets, not dictate corporate holdings. The company argues that MSCI's proposal unfairly penalizes companies for holding Bitcoin and is out of step with regulators, markets, and its own customers.
MSCI is currently seeking feedback from market participants on this proposal, with the consultation period running until September 30. Any changes resulting from this consultation would be implemented no earlier than the November 2026 index review. This is not the first time MSCI has considered such exclusions; a similar proposal in October 2025 was shelved in January 2026 after industry pushback, but MSCI signaled a broader review was forthcoming. Earlier projections pegged potential forced selling at $2.5B–$2.8B for MicroStrategy alone, now estimated at $1.8B–$2.0B in potential outflows if the rules are finalized.