MSCI will remove Strategy and Metaplanet, two publicly traded companies known for their Bitcoin holdings, from its indexes. The changes take effect at the close of trading on November 30, 2026, when Strategy will leave the MSCI USA Index and Metaplanet will leave the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index. Strategy shares fell 2.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Strategy will also lose its place in the MSCI World Index, which tracks stocks across developed markets. Both Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet fall under MSCI’s new rules for companies that share characteristics with investment funds.
Strategy Estimated $2.8 Billion in Potential Share Sales
Funds that replicate MSCI indexes will see the most direct impact. To track an index’s performance, these funds hold its constituent stocks in proportion to their index weights. Once MSTR’s weight drops to zero at the end of the month, funds that hold the shares to replicate the index are expected to sell their positions.
Last year, Strategy estimated that removal from MSCI’s indexes could trigger roughly $2.8 billion in MSTR share sales. The company made that estimate before MSCI announced its decision. How many shares funds will sell and at what prices remains unclear.
JPMorgan’s broader estimate depends on what other index providers decide. The bank estimated that total outflows from Strategy stock could reach $8.8 billion if other providers also remove the company from their indexes. Both estimates refer to sales of Strategy shares held by funds. The Bitcoin on Strategy’s balance sheet is a separate holding.
How MSCI Assessed Strategy
The debate began last year when MSCI proposed excluding companies whose digital assets accounted for at least 50% of their total assets. MSCI later expanded its review to cover other sectors. The rules it finalized on October 15 consider the relationship between a company’s business operations and the assets it holds for investment.
MSCI first assesses whether a company has substantial operating assets. For companies that fail this initial test, it then examines five financial ratios that apply across industries. To remove an existing index member, MSCI requires the company to meet the exclusion criteria on at least four of the five ratios in each of its two most recent annual reporting periods.
The November list also includes Yellow Cake, a UK-based company that buys and holds uranium. MSCI applied the same criteria to the two Bitcoin treasury companies and to a company that holds a physical commodity.
Strategy’s Bitcoin Holdings Top 850,000 BTC
Two days before MSCI announced its decision, Strategy disclosed that it had bought 1,036 BTC for approximately $81.9 million during the week of November 2–8. The company paid an average of $79,012 per bitcoin. The purchase brought its holdings to 850,364 BTC as of November 8, more than 4% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins.
