MSCI Proposes New Rule That Could Exclude Bitcoin Holding Firms From Its Global Indexes

Index provider MSCI has opened a new consultation that could lead to the exclusion of so called non operating companies from its Global Investable Market Indexes, a category that may capture major publicly listed bitcoin holders such as Strategy and Metaplanet. According to CoinDesk, in a report published Friday, August 14, 2026 (23 Mordad 1405), the proposed rule uses a two step screen: first checking whether a company's operating assets exceed 50 percent of total assets, and if not, evaluating five financial ratios, with failure on at least four of them making a company ineligible for index inclusion.

Based on May 2026 data cited by CoinDesk, applying the screen would have resulted in the removal of three companies, Strategy, Metaplanet and uranium holder Yellow Cake, from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index. Strategy, holding about 840,447 bitcoin worth roughly $53.18 billion, is the largest publicly listed holder of the cryptocurrency, while Tokyo listed Metaplanet holds 43,000 bitcoin worth more than $2 billion. MSCI said it is taking feedback from market participants through September 30, and that any resulting changes would not take effect before the index's November 2026 review.