MSCI Finalizes Removal of Strategy, Metaplanet, and Upexi From Global Equity Indexes

MSCI Locks In Deletion of Crypto Treasury Firms

Index provider MSCI has moved to finalize the exclusion of Strategy — formerly known as MicroStrategy — from its global equity indexes, putting an end to a multi-month dispute over whether companies whose primary balance-sheet activity is holding digital assets should be classified as operating businesses.

The firm's final list of affected securities, published alongside its November index review, shows "STRATEGY A" flagged with the action "Deleted." Japan-based Metaplanet and crypto treasury vehicle Upexi receive the same treatment. Ether-focused treasury company Sharplink, meanwhile, has been placed on a watchlist rather than immediately removed.

All deletions become effective after the close of trading on November 30, in line with the implementation schedule MSCI outlined during its October review cycle.

Estimated Selling Pressure and Passive Fund Impact

The practical consequence of the removal is significant for the passive investment ecosystem. Funds that track MSCI benchmarks are contractually obligated to adjust their portfolios, which means they will divest the affected tickers.

JPMorgan had earlier calculated that Strategy's exclusion alone could set off roughly $2.8 billion in forced selling, underscoring the scale of passive flows that currently support the company's share price. For the broader crypto-treasury sector, the ruling effectively strips away a key pillar of institutional, index-driven demand that had propped up valuations in recent quarters.

Strategy's Objections and Downplayed Risk

Strategy publicly contested the proposal, arguing that MSCI was essentially repackaging an earlier, broader initiative to sideline digital-asset treasury companies and was injecting what it described as policy judgments into a process that should remain purely mechanical. The firm maintained that index construction rules should not be used to make qualitative calls on business models.

Even so, Strategy sought to minimize the expected market disruption. In its formal consultation response, the company noted that MSCI-linked funds held approximately 13 million of its shares — roughly 3.1 percent of basic shares outstanding — a quantity it characterized as less than a single day's average trading volume.

The episode has also drawn criticism from the wider crypto community. A Bitcoin-focused think tank took issue with what it called MSCI's "invisible committee," questioning the transparency of the decision-making process behind the new classification rule that caught both Strategy and Metaplanet.