MSCI's new screen could remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its global indexes after Nov. 30

MSCI confirmed on October 15 that companies classified as non-operating businesses will no longer qualify for its Global Investable Market Indexes, following an August consultation.

MSCI will release its final list of affected companies on November 11, and the changes take effect after the November 30, 2026 close.

The final methodology includes minor modifications to the August proposal, though the October announcement did not detail each adjustment.

An August consultation simulation using May 2026 data identified Strategy and Metaplanet as potential deletions from the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index.

U.K. uranium investment company Yellow Cake was also among the firms flagged for removal in the simulation.

In the May 2026 simulation, free-float-adjusted market capitalization was approximately $23.93 billion for Strategy, $654 million for Metaplanet and $1.81 billion for Yellow Cake; these figures describe the earlier simulation, not current valuations.

MSCI has not confirmed that the simulated deletions will appear in the November review.

SharpLink (SBET), Taiwan's Center Laboratories and Turkey's Lydia Holding were assigned to a potential watchlist in the simulation.

Strategy's October 12 disclosure confirmed it bought 250 BTC for approximately $21.5 million during the previous week.

Strategy spent $192.4 million repurchasing its STRC preferred shares during the same period.

Strategy's holdings total 848,250 BTC, with an aggregate acquisition cost of approximately $64 billion including fees and related expenses as of October 11.

Strategy said in August that funds tracking MSCI's Global Investable Market Indexes hold approximately 13 million of its shares, 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding, which it said is less than one day's trading volume.

In August, Strategy opposed the changes but also played down the potential disruption.

"It removes a company from the default portfolios of tens of millions of people who never chose to remove it," said Conner Brown, executive director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, in September, describing the consequences of broad-market index exclusion with Strategy as the example.

Removal could force funds tracking MSCI indexes to sell the affected companies' shares, potentially putting pressure on stock prices and reducing passive investment demand.

Strategy spent roughly nine times as much on STRC preferred repurchases as on bitcoin in the week covered by its Oct. 12 disclosure (about 8.9 to 1).

Metaplanet and Yellow Cake together had about $2.46 billion of simulated free-float market value, roughly 10.3% of Strategy's $23.93 billion.

JPMorgan analysts previously estimated that Strategy's exclusion from MSCI indexes could trigger roughly $2.8 billion in selling; the estimate concerned MSCI's earlier digital asset proposal, not the rules adopted.

Sharplink (SBET), Ton Strategy Company (TONX), Solana Company (HSDT) and DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) are among companies that would be put on a watchlist for potential removal.

The new rules could lead to Strategy, Metaplanet and Upexi being removed from MSCI's global indexes.