MSCI announced on Oct. 15 that it will adopt a framework excluding companies deemed non-operating businesses, reviving a threat to Strategy, the Bitcoin treasury company led by Michael Saylor, whose shares trade nearly 69% below their peak.
The index provider had already flagged Strategy, Japan's Metaplanet and uranium investment company Yellow Cake for potential deletion in an August simulation using May financial data. Ethereum treasury company SharpLink was among three firms placed on a proposed watchlist.
Under the new framework, MSCI will first assess whether a company has substantial operating assets. Companies that fail this initial screen face five financial-ratio tests, and being flagged on at least four makes them ineligible. Existing constituents must fail the eligibility screen in both of their two most recent annual filing periods before removal, though MSCI may also use the most recent interim filing.
The framework replaces interim restrictions targeting companies whose digital assets represented at least 50% of total assets. MSCI had abandoned an earlier outright exclusion proposal in January before expanding its review to businesses whose activities resemble investment vehicles.
For Strategy, the decision revives a challenge executives had spent months contesting. In September, the company argued that excluding Bitcoin treasury businesses would undermine MSCI's neutrality and impose an arbitrary distinction between operating companies and investment vehicles.
A chart shared by market commentator Mark Harvey, based on Yahoo Finance daily closing prices, puts MSTR 68.7% below its running high, with a drawdown exceeding 80% earlier in 2026 and a previous low of 89.3% below the running high. Harvey described the depressed valuation as a generational buying opportunity, reflecting expectations that the company's long-term Bitcoin exposure could outweigh its current difficulties.