MSCI was due to say on November 11 whether Strategy stays in its stock indexes
New rules for 'non-operating' companies could push Strategy, Metaplanet and others out of widely tracked indexes after November 30.
Index provider MSCI is scheduled to publish its final list of companies affected by its new rules for "non-operating" companies on November 11. Any removals take effect after the market close on November 30, according to Bitcoin.com News, crypto.news and Crypto Valley Journal.
The decision matters most for Strategy, which buys bitcoin with money raised from selling shares and debt. Update: MSCI said late on November 11 that it will remove Strategy from the MSCI USA Index on November 30. Read the follow-up.
How the new test works
MSCI finalized the rules on October 15. A company passes the first screen if operating assets make up at least 50% of its total assets. A company that fails that screen faces five financial tests and becomes ineligible if it fails four of them, crypto.news and Crypto Valley Journal reported.
Companies already in the indexes are removed only if they fail in both of their two most recent annual filing periods, according to Bitcoin.com News.
MSCI's list of securities that could be affected named five companies: Strategy, Metaplanet, Yellow Cake, Skel fjárfestingafélag and Upexi, crypto.news reported. Metaplanet holds about 44,000 BTC, per Crypto Valley Journal.
How much selling is at stake
Strategy has estimated that funds tracking MSCI indexes hold about 13 million of its shares. That is about 3.1% of its basic shares and roughly 60% of 30-day average daily trading volume, according to crypto.news and Crypto Valley Journal.
A widely cited JPMorgan estimate of up to $2.8 billion in outflows dates from 2025. It was based on MSCI's earlier proposal, not the final rules, both Bitcoin.com News and Crypto Valley Journal noted.
Strategy has argued against the change. "Digital assets are assets," the company wrote on X in August, as quoted by Crypto Valley Journal. Its shares closed at $121.07 on November 10, down from $145.16 on October 28, Bitcoin.com News reported.
Many pension and index funds buy whatever stocks MSCI's indexes contain. If Strategy is dropped, those funds would have to sell its shares. That could make it harder and costlier for the company to raise money for more bitcoin purchases.
Sources (3)
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