MSCI is consulting the market on the inclusion of a new set of indicators. According to its May 2026 simulation, Strategy, Metaplanet, listed in Japan, and Yellow Cake may be removed from the MSCI Global Investmentable Market Index. In the event that the rules land, the index qualifications of a currency-listed company may be subject to stricter scrutiny.

The new rules target asset holding companies

At the heart of the package is the distinction between traditional businesses and companies that rely primarily on asset-holding for value creation. MSCI proposes a two-step test.

The first step is to see whether the share of business assets in total assets exceeds 50 per cent. If below this level, the company will also continue to undergo a second round of screening, covering the intensity of its business assets, operating expenses, operating cash flows, fair value volatility and reliance on external financing.

If a company triggers at least four of the last five indicators, it may be classified as a “non-operational company” and thus lose eligibility for the MSCI Global Investmentable Market Index.

Strategy and Metaplanet trigger conditions in simulation

This framework is not specific to the encryption industry, but is particularly significant for the Bitcoin-type companies that have emerged in recent years. The main practice of such companies is to continue to grow bitcoin through debt or equity financing, while the share of the main business in the overall valuation narrative is declining.

Strategy is the most interesting case in this model. The company has long expanded its hold on bitcoin through debt and financing, and the importance of its original software business has been relatively diminished. Metaplanet has followed a similar path in Japan, continuously using capital markets to expand the company ' s Bitcoin reserves.

  • Strategy Simulation Market Values about $23.9 billion
  • The market value of Metaplanet simulations is about $654 million.
  • If the rules are adopted, they will be reviewed in November 2026.

Rules don't only affect Bitcoin Treasury.

In its note, MSCI stressed that the proposal did not address the encrypted assets themselves. Yellow Cake, a company listed in London that provides investors with an opening through the possession of in-kind uranium, is likely to be removed during the same period, rather than a traditional mining or industrial enterprise.

This means that MSCI is more concerned with the company ' s asset structure and financing model than it is with bitcoin, Etherwood, uranium or other financial assets. The scope of this classification may continue to expand as more listed companies adopt asset reserve strategies.

SharpLink or first on the watch list.

Not all the companies that triggered the test were immediately removed from the index. MSCI also proposed a buffer arrangement to reduce the frequency of index adjustments. In the case of companies already on the index, formal exclusion usually takes place without the relevant screening for two consecutive annual filing periods.

According to the May 2026 simulation, SharpLink will be added to the watch list, along with Center Laboratories from Taiwan and Lydia Holding from Turkey. SharpLink ' s then-floating adjusted market value was about $165 million. If they fail again in future annual reviews, the index may be removed.

  • Opinion collection as of the end of September
  • The final decision is scheduled for October 16th.
  • If adopted, it will be implemented in the November index review