Overview
- MSCI proposed a new “non-operating company” screen that first checks for substantial operating assets and then applies five financial tests to decide index eligibility.
- MSCI simulations show Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake would be removed under the proposal, which revives scrutiny of firms whose balance sheets are dominated by cash or investments.
- Removal from MSCI benchmarks could trigger forced selling by passive funds and large outflows, with JPMorgan estimating roughly $2.8 billion in potential outflows for Strategy if excluded.
- The Bitcoin Policy Institute flagged metadata tying MSCI’s consultation materials to a digital-asset folder and argued that 'operating assets' is not a standard GAAP or IFRS category, saying this raises risks of discretionary, non-reproducible decisions.
- The public consultation closed Sept. 30 and MSCI has said it will announce a decision on or before Oct. 16 with any changes taking effect in the November 2026 index review; companies at risk continue to lobby and, in Strategy’s case, keep buying Bitcoin.