TLDR
- MSCI’s proposal targets companies classified as “non-operating.”
- Strategy and Metaplanet appeared on MSCI’s May 2026 deletion simulation.
- Yellow Cake was also flagged, showing the rule is broader than crypto firms.
- Current index members may need to fail the screen across two annual filings before removal.
- MSCI will accept feedback until September 30 and announce results on October 16.
Strategy and Metaplanet could be removed from MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes under a new proposal targeting companies whose balance sheets are dominated by non-operating assets. The consultation does not specifically target cryptocurrency companies, but MSCI’s May 2026 simulation placed both major Bitcoin treasury firms on its deletion list.
MSCI opened the consultation in August and is seeking feedback until September 30. The index provider expects to announce its decision by October 16, with any approved changes scheduled for the November 2026 Index Review. MSCI stressed that the consultation “may or may not” result in changes to its indexes.
Strategy and Metaplanet Appear on MSCI Deletion List
MSCI tested the proposed methodology against the MSCI ACWI IMI using May 2026 data. The simulation identified three existing constituents for deletion: Strategy, Metaplanet and UK-listed uranium holder Yellow Cake. Strategy carried a free-float market capitalization of about $23.9 billion in the simulation, while Metaplanet stood at $654 million.
Source: X
The presence of Yellow Cake makes the proposed framework broader than MSCI’s earlier approach to digital asset treasury companies. The new test focuses on how a company operates and funds its assets rather than setting a specific threshold for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency holdings.
Strategy remains the world’s largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holder. The company currently reports 840,447 BTC on its balance sheet, while Tokyo-listed Metaplanet reports holdings of 43,000 BTC.
MSCI Proposes Five Tests for Non-Operating Companies
The proposed methodology begins by examining whether operating assets represent more than 50% of a company’s total assets. Companies that meet that condition remain eligible without moving to the second stage. Those that fail face five additional financial tests.
Those tests measure operating asset intensity, operating expenses, operating cash flow, changes in the fair value of non-operating assets and dependence on external financing. A company would become ineligible if it triggered at least four of the five conditions.
MSCI describes non-operating companies as businesses that create value by accumulating assets outside their main operations, generate limited cash through their core businesses and rely heavily on external capital to expand their asset holdings. Those characteristics can apply to Bitcoin treasury companies that repeatedly raise capital to acquire additional cryptocurrency, although MSCI does not name Bitcoin in the proposed definition.
Existing index members would also receive more time before removal. MSCI proposes requiring current constituents to fail the eligibility test across two consecutive annual filings. Companies failing only their latest test could instead be placed on a public watchlist.
SharpLink Lands on Watchlist as Decision Nears
MSCI’s May simulation placed three additional companies on the proposed watchlist: SharpLink, Center Laboratories and Lydia Holding. SharpLink, which operates an Ethereum-focused treasury strategy, had a free-float market capitalization of about $165 million in the simulation.
Strategy and Metaplanet previously faced another MSCI review aimed more directly at digital asset treasury companies. That earlier proposal considered excluding companies with at least half of their assets held in digital assets, but MSCI did not move ahead with that specific rule.
The current proposal takes a broader balance-sheet approach and remains under consultation. Market participants have until September 30 to submit feedback, leaving Strategy and Metaplanet’s MSCI index status unresolved until the provider publishes its decision in October.
