Strategy Fires Back at MSCI Over Bitcoin Company Exclusion Plan, Calls It "Misguided"

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy has criticized a proposal from index provider MSCI that could see it removed from some of the world's most tracked market indexes. The company said on Monday that the plan unfairly singles out digital asset holders and should be scrapped.

Strategy says MSCI’s new proposal is discriminatory

MSCI opened a new consultation last month looking at how it defines "non-operating" companies within its Global Investable Market Indexes. Firms with operating assets that fall below 50% of their total assets would face five financial-ratio checks according to the new proposal.

Companies that meet at least four of those flags would be ineligible for index inclusion. This change could potentially exclude firms like Strategy from indexes tracked by a large pool of institutional investors.

This isn't MSCI's first attempt to implement this. In 2025, the index provider proposed excluding companies with digital-asset holdings that made up 50% or more of their total assets. That plan was withdrawn in January after pushback from the industry, with MSCI saying it would revisit its criteria. 

The Bitcoin treasury company didn't hold back in the new letter. "MSCI's continued effort to discriminate against digital assets is misguided and calls into question MSCI's neutrality and reliability," the letter noted. Strategy went further, calling the new plan a repeat of the previous failed attempt. 

"The proposal, like the 2025 proposal that MSCI withdrew, is discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided. If adopted, the proposal would have no meaningful impact on the company's business, but it would profoundly harm MSCI's reputation as a reliable and neutral index provider. Like the 2025 proposal, the current proposal should be withdrawn."

The Bitcoin treasury debate

A big part of the Strategy’s argument is based on how it accounts for its Bitcoin holdings. It said the terms "operating" and "non-operating" have no defined meaning under U.S. GAAP, IFRS, or other legal systems. 

The firm also added that it reports its Bitcoin business as an operating segment and records gains and losses as operating expenses.

They added that the proposed rules would not affect industries like REITs, timber companies, and energy infrastructure firms, while singling out digital asset treasury companies.

The pushback comes at a pivotal time for the company. The firm resumed its weekly Bitcoin buys, disclosing on Monday that it had purchased 4,603 BTC in the past week, ending a 10-week pause. 

What happens next

The company is not just asking MSCI to drop the proposal outright. It also laid out conditions it wants applied if the index provider moves forward. Strategy wants new rules to only apply to filings issued after the proposal is approved. They added it should be based on accounting or legal standards and a published record of the consultation process.

It also asked the index provider to define in clear terms the difference between "operating" and "non-operating" assets.

Interestingly, the company said that the change would not hit its business hard in practice, saying that funds tracking MSCI's GIMI indexes currently hold only about 3.1% of its outstanding shares. 

MSCI is accepting public feedback on the proposal until September 30 and expects to announce a decision by October 16.