Sharplink Shares Close at $7.36 as MSCI Monitors Potential Removal
Key Facts
MSCI placed Sharplink on a watchlist for potential removal from its indexes, according to a Reuters report, amid new rules for non-operating companies adopted by the index provider on October 15, 2026. Placement on the list does not mean a final decision to exclude the company; MSCI describes companies on its list as potentially affected by the methodology. The final list of affected companies is due to be published on November 11, as part of the November review announcement. The changes take effect at the close of November 30. The company's shares closed at $7.36 on October 28, according to data provided by EL7.
MSCI's new rules separate an initial screen for substantial operating assets from a subsequent financial screen. If a company does not pass the first screen, it moves to an exclusion test based on five financial metrics that are not tied to a specific sector. A security becomes ineligible for inclusion if it triggers four or more of the five metrics. MSCI says its expanded definition of non-operating companies also covers other issuers with similar characteristics, identified through new quantitative screens. Investment funds, business development companies and passive investment vehicles also remain in categories currently ineligible for inclusion.
The methodology sets an additional threshold for companies already in the indexes: an existing constituent will be removed only if it fails the ineligibility test in each of its two most recent annual filings. MSCI says it may use the latest interim filing if available. This means applying the test to an existing constituent requires failure across both specified filing periods, not the result from just one period. The rule is part of amendments MSCI said it made to the proposal announced on August 3, 2026. This distinction is part of the framework under which companies on the watchlist will be assessed.
According to Reuters, the watchlist includes Sharplink and a number of other crypto treasury companies, while Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet appeared on MSCI's list of potential removals. This classification differs from placement on the watchlist and does not in itself provide a final outcome for Sharplink. Strategy shares, which the Reuters report described as belonging to the largest company holding bitcoin, fell 4.2% on the Friday after the rules were announced. The report says Strategy is a constituent of the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes. The information provided does not include a comparable share-price move for Sharplink, which closed at $7.36 on October 28.
The decision process dates back to a review launched about a year ago, when MSCI proposed excluding digital asset treasury companies because they resemble investment funds already barred from its indexes. MSCI postponed that plan in January, then opened a broader review of non-operating companies. Amid debate over the potential impact, Strategy said the previous year that exclusion could trigger the sale of $2.8 billion in shares and warned it could "discourage" activity in the sector. That remains a company warning about a potential impact, not an outcome of implementing the new rules. The next announced step is publication of the final list on November 11, with the change taking effect at the close of November 30.
Starting with the November 2026 review, MSCI is ending temporary measures it had imposed on an initial list of companies whose digital asset holdings accounted for 50% or more of their total assets. The measures included freezing increases in share counts and inclusion factors, and postponing additions and changes to size segments. This step links the earlier treatment of digital treasury companies with MSCI's broader methodology for non-operating companies. The final names are due to be published on November 11, ahead of the review taking effect at month-end. Until then, Sharplink's placement on the watchlist signals potential exposure to the rules, not an announcement that it will be removed.