- Crypto analysts allege a coordinated timeline targeting Strategy Inc. and Bitcoin treasury firms.
- JPMorgan’s margin hike and MSCI’s policy changes are accused of manufacturing selling pressure.
- Strategy’s financial structure faces severe strain ahead of MSCI’s January 2026 decision.
The Bitcoin community accused leading financial services firm JPMorgan of playing a major role in a coordinated, months-long campaign against Strategy Inc. (STRC) and other corporate Bitcoin treasury firms.
Crypto researcher Adrian published a detailed timeline in a post on X, claiming that the looming MSCI delisting threat is not organic policy evolution, but the end result of deliberate market engineering.
According to Adrian, on May 14 short-seller Jim Chanos announced a “Long Bitcoin, Short Strategy” trade. Less than two months later, JPMorgan raised margin requirements for Strategy trades from 50% to 95%, a move Adrian claims choked leverage and triggered liquidations.
Then on September 12, MSCI blocked Metaplanet’s public offering. Adrian alleges that the block was meant to slow the spread of Bitcoin-heavy corporate balance sheets.
The October 10 Flash Crash and JPMorgan’s Role
On October 10, MSCI extended its consultation on digital-asset-heavy companies, exactly 16 minutes before President Trump’s tariff announcement triggered a massive global flash crash.
Adrian claims that this timing was no coincidence and the chaotic macro environment was used to bury an announcement that would later justify tightening index rules around Bitcoin treasury firms.
By the time JPMorgan mentioned the MSCI issue in a November research note, the sentiment around Strategy worsened. The bank discussed STRC’s potential delisting while omitting mention of 38 other companies facing identical index exclusion criteria. Reports soon emerged of frozen Strategy share transfers and elevated failures-to deliver tied to JPMorgan.
A 90-Day Countdown
Author Shanaka Anslem Perera brought Strategy’s financial condition to light via a substrack. The company holds 649,870 Bitcoin, 3.26% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, but Perera argues its cash position and dividend obligations create an existential 90-day window.
With only $54 million in cash and $700 million in annual preferred dividend obligations, Strategy must constantly raise capital just to service previous raises. The mechanism worked only while shares traded at a premium to Bitcoin holdings, as per Perera, who added that the premium collapsed in November 2025, breaking the model.
As MSCI’s January 2026 ruling approaches, JPMorgan estimates up to $8.8 billion in forced selling if indices exclude Bitcoin-heavy companies. Interestingly, even a modest Bitcoin offloading by Strategy could fracture liquidity.
Related: MetaMask Maker ConsenSys Hires JPMorgan And Goldman Sachs As It Explores An IPO
Boycotts and Debanking
Bitcoin advocates launched a community-wide boycott of JPMorgan on November 23. Real estate investor Grant Cardone alleged that the bank delayed his attempt to withdraw $20 million, promising legal action. Max Keiser urged him to “take down JPMorgan” and move capital into Strategy and Bitcoin.
Strike CEO Jack Mallers revealed that JPMorgan abruptly closed his accounts without explanation. This raised concerns about renewed debanking practices against crypto executives, despite President Trump’s August executive order prohibiting such actions.
Related: Alibaba Bypasses Stablecoins, Taps JPMorgan’s JPMD for New B2B Payments
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Source: https://coinedition.com/inside-the-mstr-controversy-did-jpmorgan-and-msci-spark-a-crypto-backlash/
