MSCI Index Changes May Trigger $15 Billion Crypto Selloff by Treasury Companies

TLDR

• MSCI is considering removing crypto treasury companies from its indexes, which could force $10-15 billion in crypto sales across 39 companies with $113 billion in total market cap
• Strategy (Michael Saylor’s company) faces the largest impact with potential $2.8 billion in outflows, representing 74.5% of affected market cap
• BitcoinForCorporations group argues balance sheet metrics are unfair and has gathered 1,268 petition signatures against the proposal
• MSCI will announce its final decision on January 15, 2026, with implementation planned for February 2026 Index Review
• Industry players including Nasdaq-listed Strive and Strategy have publicly objected to the proposal, arguing it creates bias against crypto assets

Morgan Stanley Capital International Index is considering a policy change that could force crypto treasury companies to sell up to $15 billion in digital assets. The proposal would exclude companies with majority crypto holdings from MSCI’s benchmark indexes.

BitcoinForCorporations, a group opposing the plan, analyzed 39 companies with $113 billion in combined float-adjusted market capitalization. The group estimates these firms could face outflows between $10 billion and $15 billion if MSCI proceeds with the exclusion.

Strategy, the Bitcoin treasury company led by Michael Saylor, would bear the largest impact. JPMorgan analysts estimate Strategy could see $2.8 billion in outflows if removed from MSCI indexes. The company represents 74.5% of the total affected market capitalization.

Analysts calculated total potential outflows across all impacted companies at $11.6 billion. This selling pressure would hit crypto markets that have already declined for nearly three months. The forced sales would occur as passive investment funds rebalance their holdings to match MSCI’s benchmark indexes.

MSCI first announced the consultation in October. The proposal targets companies that hold the majority of their balance sheet in cryptocurrencies. MSCI’s indexes determine which companies passive investment funds must include in their portfolios.

Opposition Grows Against Balance Sheet Metric

BitcoinForCorporations argues that using balance sheet composition as a metric is flawed. The group states that a single balance sheet measure cannot accurately reflect whether a company operates a legitimate business. Companies could be removed even when their customer base, revenue streams, operations and business models remain unchanged.

The petition against MSCI’s proposal has collected 1,268 signatures. The group calls on MSCI to withdraw the proposal entirely. They want companies classified based on actual business operations, financial performance and operational characteristics rather than asset composition.

Multiple industry participants have voiced concerns about the policy change. Nasdaq-listed Strive issued a statement on December 5 urging MSCI to “let the market decide” on including Bitcoin-holding companies. Strategy followed with its own letter days later, arguing the policy would create bias against crypto as an asset class.

The company stated that MSCI should act as a neutral arbiter rather than making value judgments about specific asset classes. Strategy’s position is that index providers should not discriminate based on the type of assets companies choose to hold.

MSCI will announce its final decision on January 15, 2026. If approved, the changes would take effect during the February 2026 Index Review. Companies and investors have until the January deadline to submit additional feedback on the proposal.

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