MSCI said on November 11, 2026, that it will remove Strategy from the MSCI USA Index and Metaplanet from the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index at the close of business on November 30, 2026 (MSCI). The removals follow MSCI's adoption of a new rule on non-operating companies, which put several bitcoin treasury firms at risk of exclusion.
Index Changes Announced
MSCI's November 2026 Index Review, dated November 11, 2026, in Geneva, lists changes effective at the close of business on November 30, 2026, and reflected in the indexes from December 1. Strategy Class A shares are among 24 deletions from the MSCI USA Index (MSCI). Metaplanet is removed from the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index on the same date. MSCI's review documents did not give company-specific explanations for the removals (The Block).
What the New Rule Does
MSCI's methodology for non-operating companies screens a company's operating assets and five financial ratios, and replaces interim restrictions on firms whose digital asset holdings were at least 50% of total assets. Current index members are removed only if they fail the screen in each of their two most recent annual filing periods (The Block). MSCI proposed in 2025 to remove companies whose digital asset holdings exceeded 50% of total assets, then launched a broader review of non-operating companies (Investing.com).
Who Is Affected
Strategy held 850,364 bitcoin as of November 8, 2026, bought at an average price of $75,456 per bitcoin, or $64.16 billion in total. It bought 1,036 bitcoin for $81.9 million between November 2 and November 8 (SEC filing). Strategy is the largest of nearly 200 public companies using a bitcoin treasury model. Metaplanet holds about 44,000 bitcoin, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data (The Block).
Fund Selling Mechanics
When a stock is excluded from an index, funds tracking that index must sell their shares. Strategy said funds tracking MSCI's global investable indexes hold about 13 million of its shares, or 3.1% of its basic shares outstanding, which is less than one day's typical trading volume (CoinDesk). The removal does not delist Strategy's stock, and nothing in the rules requires the company to sell bitcoin (Cryptonews).
Strategy's Position
Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le previously spoke out against the rule change, calling the proposed treatment of digital asset treasuries "discriminatory." In a September letter, Strategy argued that exclusion would have no meaningful impact on its business but would harm MSCI's reputation as a neutral index provider. Sharplink, an Ethereum treasury company, was not among the deletions in the November small-cap review (The Block).
Market Reaction
Strategy's MSTR shares fell 2.6% in after-hours trading on November 11 to $119.06. Metaplanet shares closed that day down 2.53% at 231 yen in Tokyo, before MSCI announced the removals (The Block). Bitcoin steadied at $73,660 at 1:30 a.m. ET on November 12 (Investing.com).
What Comes Next
The deletions take effect at the close of business on November 30, 2026. MSCI's next regular index review will be announced on February 9, 2027, with changes effective March 1, 2027 (MSCI). Companies not currently in the indexes remain ineligible for addition if they fail the screen in either of their two most recent annual filing periods (The Block).
