Supporters of the Bitcoin-treasury firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and wider Bitcoin community are ramping up pressure on JPMorgan Chase, calling for a broad boycott of the banking giant. The backlash follows a JPMorgan research note that highlighted proposed changes from index provider MSCI that could exclude crypto-backed treasury companies from its indices — a development many in the Bitcoin world view as deeply hostile.
What Sparked the Boycott Calls
According to multiple sources, MSCI is considering a rule that would remove companies with 50% or more of their balance sheet in crypto from major indices, starting January 2026.
JPMorgan publicly shared this via a research note, warning that such a move could trigger large outflows from affected companies.
The concern is that if these companies are dropped from MSCI indexes, passive funds (which track these benchmarks) may be forced to sell their shares — potentially triggering a cascade of selling pressure.
Key Voices in the Backlash
Grant Cardone, real estate investor and outspoken Bitcoin advocate, claimed he had withdrawn US$20 million from JPMorgan’s Chase bank and said he is suing them over alleged credit card misconduct.
Max Keiser, another high-profile Bitcoin supporter, urged the community to “Crash JP Morgan and buy Strategy and BTC.”
Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Strategy, defended his company’s business model. He argued that Strategy is not just a fund, trust, or holding company — but a “Bitcoin-backed structured finance company” that actively creates, issues, and operates financial products.
Why This Matters for Strategy (and Crypto)
1. Passive Investment Risk: Strategy was added to the Nasdaq-100 in December 2024 — meaning it benefits from index-tracking funds.
2. Potential Forced Sell-Offs: If MSCI goes through with its proposed changes, funds that track their indices may need to dump shares of Strategy and similar companies, threatening their valuation and stability.
3. Crypto Market Impact: A mass deleveraging of treasury companies could ripple into the crypto markets themselves, according to analysts quoted in the original coverage.
Broader Implications and Risk
Beyond Strategy, other publicly traded companies that hold large amounts of crypto could face similar risks.
The incident highlights a tension: even as companies build business models around Bitcoin reserves, they remain exposed to traditional financial gatekeepers like index providers.
For the Bitcoin community, this feels like a pushback not only on Strategy but on the legitimacy of using crypto as a core treasury asset.
Conclusion
What began as a technical conversation about index criteria has erupted into a full-blown boycott campaign against JPMorgan, driven by prominent Bitcoin advocates and Strategy’s leadership. Their anger is rooted in a belief that the proposed MSCI exclusion policy — amplified by JPMorgan’s public note — threatens not just their company but the broader mission of legitimizing Bitcoin as a long-term treasury asset. Whether the boycott gains real financial traction remains to be seen, but the episode underscores broader tensions: between the crypto-native belief in decentralized value and the traditional financial system’s power to define and limit who counts.
