Index provider MSCI has adopted new rules, which may result in Strategy, Metaplanet, and Upexi being removed from its global indices. This also exposes several other cryptocurrency treasury companies to the risk of exclusion.

MSCI stated on Thursday that it will adopt a methodology proposed in August, which will prevent "non-operating companies" from being eligible to be included in the MSCI Global Investable Markets Index ( MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes ).

As previously mentioned, Strategy ( MSTR ) is one of the companies that will be removed from the index according to this “non-operating company methodology.” Sharplink , Inc ( SBET ), Ton Strategy Company ( TONX ), Solana Company ( HSDT ), and DeFi Development Corp ( DFDV ) are among those that may be placed on an “observation list” and face the potential for exclusion.

Once eliminated, funds that track the MSCI index may be forced to sell stocks of related companies, which could put pressure on stock prices and reduce demand for passive investments.

The executive director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute ( Bitcoin Policy Institute ), Conner Brown, stated in September: “This will remove a company from the default investment portfolios of tens of millions of people who never actively chose to remove it.” At that time, he was using Strategy as an example to illustrate the potential consequences of being excluded from broad market indices.

According to the new methodology, MSCI will be evaluated based on the company's operating assets and five financial ratios. If a company fails to meet at least four of these criteria in the five tests, it may be deemed ineligible to be included. For companies that are already in the index, they usually need to fail to pass the screening for two consecutive annual reporting periods before they will be removed.

MSCI indicates that the final list of companies to be eliminated will be announced on November 11th and will take effect on November 30, 2026.

JPMorgan analysts previously estimated that if Strategy were to be removed from the MSCI index, it could trigger approximately $2.8 billion in selling pressure. However, this estimate was based on the digital asset proposal previously put forward by MSCI, not the set of rules adopted on Thursday.

In August this year, Strategy opposed these changes, but also downplayed the potential disruptions. The company stated that funds tracking the MSCI Global Investable Markets Index held approximately 13 million of its shares in total, accounting for 3.1% of its basic outstanding shares. The company noted that this shareholding size is less than even one day's trading volume of its stock.