Excluding the ‘non-operating companies’ index
Direct hit by companies accumulating non-operating assets
Gather opinions in September, apply changes in November
![Michael Saylor, chairman of Strategy, giving a keynote speech at the "Strategy World 2026" conference in Las Vegas, U.S. [Source=Youtube]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202608/18/news-p.v1.20260306.4e542775aad241bfb5f228a96e271183_P1.png)
Strategies, the world’s largest Bitcoin Treasure (DAT) company, is on the verge of being kicked out by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), a global stock index, within the year.
This is because index calculation agency MSCI is pushing to introduce a new methodology to exclude “non-operating companies” that accumulate large amounts of non-operating assets rather than operating assets from the Global Investable Market Index (GIMI).
MSCI has recently launched a review of a new methodology to exclude non-operating companies, including Bitcoin Treasure companies, from its Global Investable Market Index (GIMI).
MSCI defined a non-operating company as “a company that generates value by accumulating non-operating assets, generates little cash in its actual business, has its performance dictated by market movements, and grows on external capital.”
Currently, funds and business development companies (BDCs) are already excluded from GIMI based on their legal form, and this proposal aims to filter out even general listed companies with similar characteristics with a quantitative screen.
◆ Candidate for exit from MSCI Simulation Strategy and Metaplanet
![As a result of simulating MSCI's newly proposed methodology for excluding "non-operating companies" to the Global Investable Market Index (GIMI). Three stocks, including Strategy, the world's largest bitcoin trading company, were immediately deleted, while three stocks, including Sharplink Gaming, the world's second-largest Ethereum trading company, were classified as observation targets. [Photo source = MSCI]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202608/18/news-p.v1.20260818.0ff60610bd5648fe98e26a6e1b99335d_P1.jpg)
As a result of MSCI’s trial application to the ACWI IMI index based on data in May this year, three stocks were classified as eligible for the index’s exit: Strategy, the world’s largest bitcoin-holding listed company, Japan’s Meta Planet, Asia’s largest bitcoin trading company, and Yellowcake, a British uranium investment company.
In addition, three listed companies, including Sharplink Gaming, the world’s second-largest Ethereum trading company, Taiwan’s Center Laboratories, and Turkiye’s Lydia Holding, were listed on the public observation list due to lack of standards. If they fail to meet the criteria again in next year’s screening, it could lead to the actual exit of the index.
Earlier in October last year, MSCI released a separate exclusion plan targeting 39 companies that hold more than 50% of their total assets as digital assets such as Bitcoin, but put it on hold in January this year amid the slump in the virtual asset market and opposition from the industry.
MSCI explained that the methodology is differentiated from the previous one in that it applies the same financial ratio standard to the entire industry without pointing out a specific asset group.
◆ Strategy “MSCI Is Just a Market Meter” Refutes
In response, Strategy stressed that digital assets, like other assets, are a type of asset, and protested against MSCI’s move, saying, “Index providers only have to measure the market as it is, and they do not have the authority to determine the type of assets a company can hold.”
The market believes that if the actual deletion becomes a reality, the forced sale of index-following passive funds will be inevitable. JPMorgan estimated that if the strategy is excluded from the MSCI index, there could be a passive outflow of funds worth about $2.8 billion.
Strategy currently has 844,47 Bitcoin (about $53.18 billion), the largest volume among listed companies, while Meta Planet has 43,000 Bitcoin (over $2 billion).
MSCI will collect opinions from market participants by September 30 and announce the results of its review before October 16. If the methodology change is actually adopted, it will be reflected in the regular index review in November.
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