MSCI could remove Strategy and Metaplanet from indexes in November, triggering billions in passive outflows

MSCI has launched a consultation that could result in Michael Saylor’s Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet being kicked out of its Global Investable Market Indexes. The move would force passive funds tracking those indexes to dump their holdings, potentially unleashing between $1.8 billion and $2.0 billion in selling pressure on Strategy alone.

The consultation focuses on whether non-operating companies belong in MSCI’s widely tracked equity benchmarks.

Five tests, zero passes

MSCI’s proposed methodology introduces five financial screening criteria. A company needs to pass at least two of them to maintain its spot in the index.

Strategy, based on its FY2025 filings, reportedly fails all five. Metaplanet faces the same predicament. Both companies generate minimal traditional operating revenue relative to the enormous Bitcoin positions they’ve accumulated through convertible debt offerings and equity issuance.

Timeline and process

MSCI opened this consultation in August 2026, and the feedback period runs through the end of September 2026. The final methodology is scheduled for publication on October 16, 2026, with the actual index review, where deletion decisions get made, set for November 11, 2026.

This isn’t MSCI’s first swing at the issue. A previous consultation focused specifically on Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) firms and closed back in December 2025. That earlier round produced some eye-watering estimates. JPMorgan projected that if multiple index providers aligned with MSCI’s approach, total passive outflows could reach as high as $8.8 billion.

The current, broader framing around “non-operating companies” rather than “digital asset treasury firms” is notable. By widening the lens beyond crypto-specific language, MSCI is building a methodology that could apply to any company whose primary activity is holding a single asset rather than running a business.

Why index inclusion matters this much

Trillions of dollars in global assets track MSCI indexes. When a stock gets added to an MSCI index, passive funds are mechanically required to buy it. When it gets removed, they’re mechanically required to sell.

The estimated $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion in outflows from Strategy’s potential removal represents the MSCI-specific impact. If other index providers, like FTSE Russell or S&P Dow Jones, follow suit with similar methodology changes, the cumulative selling pressure would compound significantly, hence the earlier $8.8 billion figure from JPMorgan’s analysis.

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