MSCI Proposed Rules May Remove Strategy from Index, Decision Expected by October 16
MSCI has proposed new rules regarding "non-operating companies," with a simulation in May 2026 indicating that Strategy will be removed from its global investable market index.
Strategy is listed alongside Metaplanet and Yellow Cake as the three companies simulated for removal from the MSCI ACWI IMI.
The proposed method filters based on operational assets, expenses and cash flow, changes in non-operating fair value, and the company's reliance on fundraising to accumulate assets.
The last criterion directly involves Strategy's model of accumulating Bitcoin through issuing stocks and debt.
The rules have not yet been finalized, with a consultation period ending on September 30, and MSCI expects to make a decision by October 16, with potential adjustments implemented during the November 2026 index review.
From a market mechanism perspective, the index removal will trigger forced selling by passive funds, shifting capital from Bitcoin-holding companies to traditional operating enterprises; beneficiaries will be component stocks that meet operational standards, while those under pressure will be listed companies and their shareholders that rely on capital fundraising to accumulate digital assets.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
MSCI had previously conducted a specific consultation on whether digital asset treasury companies (DATCO) should be excluded from the index, ultimately deciding in early 2026 not to implement targeted removals, but instead to initiate a broader review of non-operating companies. This new rule is a concrete outcome of that review, continuing the index compiler's ongoing definition of the boundary between "operating companies" and "investment-oriented entities."
In terms of capital pathways, companies like Strategy raise funds through continuous issuance of stocks and convertible bonds to purchase Bitcoin, heavily capitalizing their balance sheets. The new rule directly incorporates this "fundraising - hoarding Bitcoin" cycle into the selection criteria; the motivation is to maintain the purity of the index as a performance measurement tool for operating enterprises and strategically prevent passive funds from being allocated en masse to companies that are essentially asset-holding tools.
Similar cases can be seen in the historical classification adjustments of the index for REITs, investment holding companies, and some resource-holding enterprises; the current digital asset treasury model is at a stage of collision with institutional boundaries, with index eligibility becoming a core support for the liquidity and valuation of such companies.
Structural judgments belong to regulatory changes: index rules redefine "investable operating companies" through financial and capital dependency standards. The mechanism is that when passive fund sizes are large, the compiling organization must prevent the index from being dominated by non-operating entities, thereby reclassifying Bitcoin accumulation strategies from "corporate behavior" to potential investment fund characteristics.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
The index rules will ultimately define what a real company is.
The model of relying on fundraising to hoard assets will eventually be constrained by capital dependency clauses.
The scale of passive funds determines the strength of active rules.