MSCI has finalized a test that could change whether some crypto treasury companies belong in its global stock indexes. In an October 15 announcement, the index provider said it will classify non-operating companies as ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes. The rules take effect in the November index review, at the close of November 30. They do not, by themselves, confirm that any named company will be removed. MSCI expects to publish its final list of potentially affected constituents on November 11.

A broader test than the crypto-asset threshold

The decision replaces an interim approach focused on companies whose digital assets represented at least 50% of total assets. Those temporary measures had frozen certain index-share and inclusion-factor increases and deferred additions and size-segment changes for a preliminary group. MSCI said it will discontinue them with the November review. Digital-asset treasury businesses will instead be assessed alongside other issuers under the new non-operating-company methodology. Holding a large Bitcoin or Ether balance is therefore not, on its own, the final exclusion test described in the October announcement.

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MSCI will first check whether an issuer has substantial operating assets. For issuers that fail that initial screen, it will apply five financial ratios that are not specific to one industry. A security becomes ineligible if it is flagged on at least four of the five. MSCI's announcement does not list every ratio or threshold; it directs readers to an appendix of its index methodology for those details. The staged test is important because it separates the question of what a company owns from how its underlying business is classified.

Existing members get a timing buffer

The treatment of an existing index constituent differs from that of a company seeking entry. A new candidate cannot be added if it fails the ineligibility screen in either of its two latest annual filing periods. A current constituent is removed only if it fails in both periods. MSCI may also consider the most recent interim filing when available. The buffers are intended to limit index turnover, so a company appearing exposed to the new rules cannot be assumed to leave at the next review without the filing-based assessment.

The Block reported that Strategy, the U.S.-listed Bitcoin treasury company trading as MSTR, is among the stocks that could face scrutiny, along with other crypto treasury businesses. Its report also cited a prior MSCI simulation that flagged Strategy and Japan's Metaplanet. Those are indications of possible exposure, not a final November decision. The broader framework can also apply to non-crypto companies with similar non-operating characteristics, so the change should not be read as a rule that singles out digital assets.

Why index membership matters

Index eligibility can affect funds that track MSCI benchmarks and investors who use those benchmarks for comparison. If a constituent is eventually removed, tracking funds may need to adjust their holdings around the effective date. The size and timing of any such trading would depend on the final company list, index weights and fund mandates; the October 15 announcement provides no basis for a reliable flow estimate. It also does not change a company's operating business or the assets on its balance sheet.

The next concrete checkpoint is MSCI's November 11 review announcement, followed by the November 30 close when the methodology becomes effective. Investors can compare the published list with each company's filings and the final index changes. Until then, descriptions of Strategy or any other treasury stock as already excluded would run ahead of the decision MSCI has actually made.

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