MicroStrategy Faces Potential MSCI Index Ouster Under New Non-Operating Asset Rules

MSCI's new index eligibility rules threaten to remove MicroStrategy and Metaplanet, potentially impacting billions in passive investment holdings.

Editorial Desk

October 17, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — New York, USA — Global index provider MSCI has officially adopted new eligibility criteria that could lead to the removal of Bitcoin treasury firms, including MicroStrategy and Metaplanet, from its widely tracked equity benchmarks.

The updated framework, which was finalized on Thursday following a proposal introduced in August, targets companies classified as non-operating entities. This shift replaces a previous, more limited focus that specifically scrutinized firms with more than 50% of their assets held in cryptocurrency.

Following the announcement, MicroStrategy shares experienced a 4% decline during after-hours trading as investors weighed the implications of a potential exit from the MSCI World Index. Such an exclusion could jeopardize billions of dollars in passive investment inflows that currently support the company’s market valuation.

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Analysts at TD Cowen previously estimated that approximately $2.5 billion of MicroStrategy’s market value is tied to MSCI indices, with an additional $5.5 billion dependent on other index providers. Exclusion from these benchmarks could effectively bar the firm from a portion of the roughly $15 trillion passive investment market.

MSCI is scheduled to release the official list of affected companies on November 11. The new non-operating company screen is set to take effect at the close of business on November 30.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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