MSCI Proceeds With Rule That Could Exclude Bitcoin Giant Strategy From Indexes

exclude Strategy from index — Index provider MSCI will implement a new rule that could lead to the removal of Bitcoin-focused firm Strategy from its global equity benchmarks, a move that may reduce institutional investment in the company’s stock.

MSCI announced Thursday it will proceed with a proposal to classify and exclude “non-operating companies” from its Global Investable Market Indexes, with the changes taking effect after the November 2026 index review. The rule, first proposed in August, could exclude companies like Strategy, whose digital-asset holdings represent a majority of its total assets.

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin with 848,250 BTC, had previously criticized the proposal as “misguided” and “flawed,” stating that “Bitcoin doesn’t need MSCI. Neither does Strategy.” The company’s Nasdaq-listed shares (MSTR) fell over 6% following the announcement.

While the decision does not immediately remove Strategy from MSCI’s indexes, future reviews could result in its exclusion, potentially limiting the stock’s accessibility to a broad range of institutional investors who track the benchmarks.