From 2026, MSCI has proposed a new eligibility rule that will ban companies from being included in the Global Investable Market Indexes if they own 50% or more of ‘risky assets’, including cryptocurrencies. The purpose of this step is to distinguish operating companies from what MSCI considers companies that operate as investment funds.
MSCI’s indexes are tracked by trillions of dollars of passive funds. If MicroStrategy were to exit, the company could face an outflow of billions. The move would come at a precarious time for Michael Saylor’s firm. The company’s balance sheet, already under pressure from Bitcoin’s decline over the past two months, built around Bitcoin-backed debt and equity instruments, could face significant stress.
MicroStrategy’s answer
In one open letter To MSCI’s Equity Index Committee, MicroStrategy rejected the proposal as “discriminatory, arbitrary and unworkable.” The company emphasized that Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATs) are corporations, not mutual funds, and should be treated differently than REITs or oil giants.
MicroStrategy argued that volatile Bitcoin prices would cause companies to fly in and out of the MSCI indexes, undermining stability. It also warned that the rule inappropriately injects policy judgments into the index construction, which contradicts MSCI’s stated neutrality.
Finally, the company noted that U.S. federal policy under President Trump is actively promoting digital asset innovation, including initiatives like a strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and that MSCI’s proposal would conflict with these national priorities.
The company urged MSCI to take a considered approach, similar to the way it reorganized the “Communications Services” sector after years of consultation, rather than rushing into exclusionary rules. “DATs are building an emerging financial system,” the letter concluded, “and MSCI should allow this market to mature before making any exclusion decisions.”
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