MSCI's new index rules are putting Strategy's global benchmark status at risk

MSCI adopted new rules on Thursday that make non-operating companies ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes. The framework does not push Strategy out right away, but it lays out financial tests under which the bitcoin holder could lose its eligibility, according to Bloomberg.

The changes will be implemented as part of the November 2026 Index Review and become effective once trading ends on Nov. 30, MSCI said. The index provider is due on Nov. 11 to release a definitive roster of the current constituents that could be affected.

MSCI will first apply a core screen to determine whether an issuer has substantial operating assets. Issuers that fail will face an exclusion screen based on five financial ratios, and a security will be ineligible if it is flagged on four or more of them.

To limit churn in the indexes, MSCI will build cushions around the ratio cutoffs and around when companies are added or dropped. Non-constituents cannot be added if they do not clear the screen in either of their last two annual filing periods. Current constituents will be dropped only when they miss the screen in both of those periods. MSCI may rely on the newest interim report when one has been filed.

MSCI will also discontinue the interim measures it announced on Oct. 10, 2025, for companies whose digital asset holdings made up 50% or more of total assets. Those measures included a freeze on increases to share counts and inclusion factors and a deferral of additions and size-segment migrations. Eligibility for these companies will be assessed under the new methodology.

A May 2026 simulation of MSCI’s proposal flagged Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, and the rules could also affect SharpLink, an Ethereum treasury firm, according to The Block $SQ.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le criticized MSCI earlier this year, attacking the proposal as "discriminatory" toward companies that hold digital assets in their treasuries, according to The Block. In a September letter, Strategy said the proposal "would have no meaningful impact on Strategy's business, but it would profoundly harm MSCI's reputation as a reliable and neutral index provider," The Block said.

Saylor pushed back on the possible exclusion in an interview on Tuesday. "We think their position so far has been disappointing because they are imposing prejudicial values on digital assets," he said on Bloomberg Television. Saylor contended that Strategy belongs in the operating-company category and should not be treated as a holding company.

Strategy holds 848,000 bitcoin and is the largest corporate holder of the token among publicly listed companies.