MSCI Weighs Index Ouster for Strategy, Metaplanet
MSCI is considering excluding companies whose operating assets account for less than 50% of total assets from its global indexes, a move aimed at distinguishing operating businesses from vehicles whose value is driven mainly by financial or digital-asset holdings. The proposal matters because removal could trigger mandatory portfolio changes by passive funds and challenge the market status of bitcoin treasury companies such as Strategy and Metaplanet.
MSCI simulations indicate that Strategy, Metaplanet and Taiwan-based Center Laboratories could fall within the proposed exclusion, with Strategy’s removal potentially generating as much as $2.8 billion in passive selling. The index provider is accepting feedback through the end of September and could implement the change during its November index review. Strategy has opposed the plan, arguing that MSCI should measure markets rather than dictate how companies allocate their assets.
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The history behind this eventStrategy Pauses Bitcoin Purchases, Builds Cash as MSCI Risk Looms
Strategy has built its corporate identity around issuing securities to accumulate bitcoin, turning MSTR into a widely traded proxy for the cryptocurrency. That model is under pressure as bitcoin weakness has left the company with roughly $10 billion in unrealized losses. Its heavy reliance on digital-asset holdings has also raised the risk that index provider MSCI could remove Strategy from its benchmarks, potentially prompting index-linked funds to sell the stock.
The company paused bitcoin purchases, leaving its holdings unchanged at 840,447 tokens, while selling MSTR common shares to bolster liquidity. Earlier disclosures showed more than $330 million raised for dividends, share repurchases and reserves, with cash reaching $4.8 billion. More recent reports cited about $2 billion of common-stock sales and the creation of a separate $1.6 billion “USD Cash” pool, marking a shift from aggressive bitcoin accumulation toward balance-sheet protection.
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