MSCI has decided to pause its plan to remove crypto-heavy treasury companies from its stock indexes. For now, firms like Strategy, which holds a large amount of Bitcoin, will stay right where they are.
The update was reported by Bloomberg on January 7 and removes a big source of worry for investors—at least in the short term.
MSCI said that companies with large crypto holdings will remain eligible for its indexes as long as they continue to meet the usual rules. That applies even if digital assets make up more than half of a company’s balance sheet. Strategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, clearly falls into this category.
This decision puts a hold on a proposal MSCI floated late last year. That plan would have treated many crypto treasury firms as investment vehicles instead of operating businesses. If that change had gone through, some companies could have been kicked out of major indexes as early as February 2026.
MSCI said feedback from investors played a big role in the delay. Many pushed back against using a simple asset-percentage rule, arguing that what a company holds doesn’t fully explain how it operates or creates value.
In short, MSCI said more work is needed to clearly separate true investment firms from operating companies that happen to hold large non-operating assets like crypto.
Markets reacted fast. Strategy’s stock jumped about 5% in after-hours trading, as fears of forced selling by index-tracking funds eased.
That said, this isn’t the end of the discussion.
MSCI made it clear that the issue is still under review. The firm plans to launch a broader review of how non-operating companies are classified, not just in crypto but across all sectors. Future rules could rely more on financial reporting and business activity, rather than just how much of a certain asset a company owns.
Why does this matter so much? Because being removed from major indexes can trigger billions of dollars in forced selling. JPMorgan analysts previously warned that Strategy alone could face massive outflows if it were excluded.
Strategy’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, has been openly critical of the proposal. In a public letter last month, he argued that companies with big exposure to assets like oil or gold aren’t treated the same way, even though they face similar price swings.
For now, crypto treasury firms get a reprieve. But the bigger question—how these companies should be classified—still hasn’t been fully answered.
