Strategy investors face a November 11 decision on whether the Bitcoin treasury company will remain in MSCI’s global equity indexes. Any resulting removals would take effect after the November 30 close.
MSCI adopted its new eligibility rules on October 15. Strategy’s removal has not been confirmed; the issue for shareholders is how exclusion could affect demand for its shares and future financing.
Separately, Strategy said on October 28 that shareholders had approved amendments permitting daily dividends on four preferred-stock series, based on preliminary voting results. Subject to the amended terms being filed and becoming effective, the new schedule would begin November 1 for STRC and January 1, 2027, for STRF, STRK and STRD. The vote changes preferred-dividend arrangements; it does not settle the MSCI index decision.
$MSTR shareholders have approved the Daily Dividends amendment. Preliminary results show 99.3% of votes cast were in favor. The amendment enables $STRF, $STRC, $STRK and $STRD to accrue dividends every calendar day. Thank you to all who voted.https://t.co/vRSC6hwlro
— Strategy (@Strategy) October 28, 2026
How the new MSCI rules work
MSCI first assesses whether a company has substantial operating assets. Companies that fail this screen face five financial-ratio tests, with ineligibility triggered by flags on at least four.
Existing index constituents face removal only if they fail the screen in both of their two most recent annual filing periods. MSCI may also consider the latest interim filing.
MSCI had previously identified Strategy, Metaplanet and Upexi as potential exclusions under its methodology for non-operating companies, according to reporting by TradingView.
Sharplink, Ton Strategy Company, Solana Company and DeFi Development Corp. were also placed on a watchlist for possible exclusion.
Why exclusion could matter for Strategy
This potential exclusion could have huge financial implications for Bitcoin and companies like Strategy. JPMorgan estimated in 2025 that exclusion from MSCI indexes could trigger up to $2.8 billion in sales of Strategy shares, Bloomberg reported. These estimates concern investors selling Strategy shares. Index exclusion would not itself require Strategy to sell Bitcoin. According to Bloomberg, potential selling could rise to $8.8 billion in total if other index providers followed.
Index membership is a source of demand for publicly traded stocks. Passive funds that replicate a benchmark index buy shares of companies in that index, and must sell companies removed from that index. Exclusion would require funds tracking the affected MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes to rebalance their holdings.
Index inclusion is important for a company like Strategy because it provides consistent buying, including through weekly 401(k) contributions and mutual funds, Brian Dobson, managing director for disruptive technology research at Clear Street, told Bloomberg.
Removal from an index can cause short-term selling pressure as investors tracking that index sell their holdings, he said.
The fallout is not limited to Strategy. A similar Tokyo-based company called Metaplanet could also be affected.
Financing Bitcoin purchases
Furthermore, exclusion could have broader implications for the company’s ability to raise capital.
Strategy typically raises funds for Bitcoin purchases through common stock, preferred shares, debt and other financial instruments. Its preferred securities include STRC and STRK.
Passive investing has become an important cornerstone of demand for Bitcoin treasury company shares, according to a post by ZEROBASE on X. Exclusion from MSCI’s indexes could have downstream ramifications on companies like Strategy if other indexes similarly exclude these Bitcoin treasury companies.
Strategy has already faced declining demand for some of its securities, Bloomberg reported. It suffered a similar setback last year when Strategy was not selected for inclusion in the S&P 500 index.
Saylor initially drove the company’s growth by selling common stock at prices above the value of its cryptocurrency holdings. That premium later shrank amid concerns about dilution, prompting a shift toward preferred shares.
Demand for those securities also weakened, according to Bloomberg.
It would be more difficult for Strategy to sell equity and maintain the mechanism it uses to buy more Bitcoin, Alexander Blume, CEO of Bitcoin-focused asset manager Two Prime, told Bloomberg.
Blume said digital asset treasury firms were not really regarded as real businesses, and that he was unsurprised some major index providers did not want their clients exposed to such volatility.
What next?
MSCI is expected to announce the companies affected by its new classification rules on November 11, with implementation scheduled for November 30, 2026.
Strategy’s removal is not yet confirmed, and the financial impact would depend on the final classification and the actions of index-tracking investors.
Saylor has played down the potential exclusion.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV in October, he said MSCI controlled a “de minimis” amount of capital and was “imposing prejudicial values on digital assets.”
He also described the potential decision as a “value judgment” that sets a bad precedent, according to Bloomberg.
The November announcement will provide greater clarity on whether Strategy and other Bitcoin treasury companies face exclusion from widely followed equity benchmarks—and what that could mean for their ability to continue accumulating Bitcoin.
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