MSCI adopts non-operating company rules; Strategy, Metaplanet face Nov 30 exclusion risk

Index provider MSCI on October 15 adopted the non-operating company framework it proposed in August and ran a public consultation on through September 30. The new screens take effect at the November 2026 index review. The final list of affected constituents publishes November 11; removals take effect at the close of November 30. The Block and Bloomberg have the decision.

Strategy (MSTR), Metaplanet and Yellow Cake were flagged for removal from the MSCI ACWI IMI in a May 2026 simulation under the earlier draft; SharpLink (an Ethereum treasury firm) was placed on the watchlist. The decision does not directly remove any of them yet — the November 11 list is the operative publication.

The screen, as adopted

MSCI's framework is a two-step test:

1. Core-asset test. If operating assets exceed 50% of the balance sheet, the company passes.
2. Five-ratio test (used when the company fails step 1). Fail at least four of the following and the company is non-operating:
   • operating assets below 20% of total assets;
   • operating expenses below 5% of total assets;
   • operating cash flow negative;
   • earnings driven by fair-value changes in non-operating assets;
   • reliance on capital raises above 20% of the balance sheet.

The adopted version adds buffers on both the thresholds and the timing of index inclusion/removal, to reduce turnover:

• New additions: candidates must fail the screen in either of their last two annual filings to be ineligible.
• Current constituents: removed only if they fail the screen in both of their last two annual filings; MSCI may use the most recent interim filing if one is available.

The framework replaces the earlier interim restriction MSCI had imposed on companies holding ≥50% digital assets, including the October 2025 share-count freeze on those firms. That interim constraint is lifted.

Who it bites first

The May 2026 simulation output under the earlier draft (per FXStreet's write-up of the decision):

• Strategy (MSTR) — bitcoin treasury firm, principal MSCI ACWI IMI constituent affected.
• Metaplanet — Japan-listed bitcoin treasury.
• Yellow Cake — uranium holding company; non-crypto but caught by the same test.
• SharpLink Gaming — ETH treasury firm, flagged for watchlist.

Other digital asset treasury (DAT) companies — the ETH, SOL, and BNB-reserve equities that came to market in 2025–2026 — can be expected on the November 11 list; MSCI has not published the roster but the ratio tests apply uniformly.

Scale, as estimated by others

JPMorgan's earlier analysis of the August draft put passive MSCI-driven selling at roughly $2.8 billion of MSTR if Strategy was excluded, with up to $8.8 billion of outflows if other major providers (FTSE Russell, S&P Dow Jones) adopted similar rules. Passive funds reportedly hold about 13 million MSTR shares (~3.1% of outstanding). These are prior-estimate figures, not confirmed outflows under the adopted rule.

Strategy's filing position

Strategy's September 2026 letter to MSCI called the proposal "discriminatory, arbitrary, and ill-advised," per Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le. The company's technical argument — that "operating" and "non-operating" lack a basis in US GAAP or IFRS — did not change the methodology. Strategy did ask that any rule apply only to filings made after adoption. MSCI did not grant that request; the methodology applies to the two most recent filings on the date of the November review.

What to watch

1. November 11, 2026 — MSCI publishes the final list of companies failing the screen under the adopted rule. This is the operative moment.
2. November 30, 2026 — removals take effect at market close.
3. Fund flow data — ETF and mutual-fund 13F filings will show which passive products rebalance ahead of Nov 30 and which hold the names through the deadline. The $2.8B JPMorgan figure is the number to measure against.
4. FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones — whether the other two major global index providers adopt comparable screens. S&P's inclusion rules already treat Strategy differently; FTSE has not yet consulted.
5. New DAT listings — Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury vehicles that filed in 2026 (ETH, SOL, BNB) now have a published MSCI ineligibility test to measure against before IPO.

Context

MSCI withdrew the earlier "digital asset treasury exclusion" draft in January 2026 and reopened the review on a broader "non-operating company" footing. That broader footing is what adopted on October 15: a test that nets Strategy and Metaplanet but also Yellow Cake, written as a methodology question rather than an asset-class one. The outcome is substantively similar to the January proposal MSCI dropped — with the firms now facing it under a rulebook that is harder to characterise as singling out digital assets.