MSCI Removes Strategy and Metaplanet From Its Indexes, Warning of $2.8 Billion in Stock Sales
Key Facts
MSCI announced its final decision on November 11, 2026, to remove Strategy and other companies from its global indexes, after concluding that these companies are more like investment funds than operating businesses. Reuters confirmed that the decision includes Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, while MSCI included the decision in its November review. The removal ends the uncertainty surrounding the company’s index eligibility after MSCI expanded its methodology to cover non-operating companies. The decision matters because passive funds and investors tracking indexes are required to hold their constituent stocks. The changes are scheduled to take effect at the close on November 30, 2026, with the removed companies excluded from the indexes from December 1.
The removal list also included Japan’s Metaplanet, which buys and holds bitcoin, and British uranium-purchasing company Yellow Cake, Reuters reported. The news agency said the two companies would be removed from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes, along with Strategy. By contrast, SharpLink was not among the removals in MSCI’s November review of its small-cap index, according to The Block. The differing outcomes for these companies mean that owning digital assets alone did not result in removal in this review. MSCI’s documents did not provide a company-specific explanation for the exclusion decisions, according to The Block. The final list thus shows the non-operating-company methodology being applied to multiple companies, while SharpLink remained outside the cited removal list.
MSCI’s methodology begins by assessing whether a company has substantial operating assets, then moves to a financial screen comprising 5 ratios that are not sector-specific. A stock becomes ineligible for inclusion if it triggers 4 or more ratios. Existing constituents, however, are removed only if they fail the ineligibility test in both of the latest annual filing periods, with the latest interim filing also eligible for use if available. The rule therefore ties the inclusion decision to a company’s operating and financial characteristics, rather than simply to its ownership of bitcoin. In January 2026, MSCI had deferred its initial plan to exclude digital asset treasury companies, then opened a broader review of non-operating companies generally. The review documents did not publish a separate explanation of how the tests were applied to each of the companies removed.
The decision followed a warning from Strategy that its exclusion would trigger $2.8 billion in stock sales, according to Reuters, which cited the company’s position from the previous year. That figure is the company’s estimate of what could happen if it were excluded, not the value of sales MSCI announced it would carry out when it released the list. JPMorgan estimated in an earlier analysis that outflows from Strategy shares could reach $8.8 billion if other index providers followed MSCI. That scenario is tied to the possibility that the decision could extend to other indexes and is not a confirmed outcome of the November review. These estimates are sensitive because passive funds and investors tracking indexes are required to hold the stocks listed in their indexes. The direct impact of the decision is therefore distinct from the broader outflow scenario, which depends on the positions of other index providers.
Strategy shares fell 2.5% in extended trading on Wednesday, November 11, according to Reuters, following the removal announcement. This followed a 4.2% drop on Friday, October 16, when MSCI announced the new rule; at the time, the stock was a constituent of the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes. From the start of 2026 through November 11, Strategy shares fell about 20%, while the price of bitcoin declined 15%, according to Reuters. These moves place November’s announcement in the context of earlier pressure on the stock and bitcoin during the year. MSCI’s broader review came after it deferred its initial plan in January and opened a review covering non-operating companies generally, rather than limiting it to digital asset treasury companies.
MSCI published the final list after 11 p.m. Central European Time on November 11 and said in its announcement that the review list would be published shortly after that time. The company said an announcement summary would later be available on Bloomberg’s MSCN page and Reuters’ public MSCIA page, with detailed rebalancing information made available to clients after the summary appeared. The changes take effect at the close on November 30, 2026, according to MSCI. The companies’ removal from the indexes begins on December 1, according to Reuters. This timetable sets out the sequence between publication of the decision, access to details for clients, and implementation of the index changes.