Summary
- Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le have urged MSCI to retract a proposed rule that could remove Strategy from its Global Investable Market Indexes.
- The rule assesses companies based on five financial metrics; failing four renders a company ineligible for inclusion.
- MSCI's consultation identifies three companies, including Strategy, facing potential removal, with Yellow Cake and Metaplanet also listed.
Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy, along with CEO Phong Le, has formally requested that MSCI reconsider a proposed eligibility criterion that could lead to the exclusion of the Bitcoin treasury company from MSCI's global benchmarks, in a letter released on Monday.
The executives criticized the proposal as "discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided," asserting that it unfairly targets companies with digital asset treasuries and is a revised version of the previously rejected 50% crypto-holdings rule from January.
In response to MSCI’s proposed exclusion of “non-operating companies,” Strategy stated, while the impact on $MSTR may not be significant, the proposal remains flawed and contradicts established securities laws and accounting standards. Read our letter and show your support: https://t.co/Vup3T5TbvY
— Strategy (@Strategy) August 31, 2026
The consultation, which began in August, addresses what MSCI defines as "non-operating companies." Firms whose operating assets make up less than half of their total assets will be screened based on five flags related to operating asset intensity, expenses, cash flow, fair-value fluctuations, and reliance on external financing. If a company triggers four flags, it becomes ineligible, while existing members must fail two consecutive annual assessments before removal is enacted.
MSCI's consultation indicates that applying this screen to the ACWI IMI as of May 2026 could lead to the removal of three companies: Strategy, with a market cap of $23.93 billion; UK uranium company Yellow Cake, valued at $1.81 billion; and Japan's Metaplanet, worth $654 million. Additionally, three other firms would be placed on a public watchlist: Ethereum treasury SharpLink, Taiwan's Center Laboratories, and Turkey's Lydia Holding.
Strategy claims that it represents about 87% of the total market capitalization at risk among these six companies, as mentioned in their letter.
Myriad: Will Strategy acquire more Bitcoin? Click to predict.Relationship Between Strategy and MSCI
In its second-quarter 10-Q filing on August 3, Strategy classified its Bitcoin treasury operations as a distinct reportable segment and records changes in Bitcoin's fair value as operating expenses. Based on this classification, the letter contends that Strategy does not trigger the expense or fair-value flags.
Saylor and Le downplayed the potential impact, stating that the proposal would not significantly affect Strategy's operations but would severely damage MSCI's image as an impartial index provider. The campaign page hosting the letter notes that funds tracking GIMI indexes represent 3.1% of basic shares. JPMorgan analysts estimated in November 2025 that MSCI's exclusion could lead to $2.8 billion in outflows, which could escalate to $11.6 billion if other index providers followed suit.
The two executives had previously expressed similar concerns in December, warning MSCI that excluding crypto treasuries could pose a risk to U.S. national security.
The letter concludes with a request for MSCI to impose a legal hold on all documents related to the creation of the eligibility test.
Feedback on the consultation will be accepted until September 30, with results expected by October 16, and any modifications to take effect during the November index review.