$15B in Forced Selling Off The Table as MSCI Keeps Crypto Treasury Firms in Indexes

Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) has decided not to exclude digital asset treasury companies (DATs) from its market indexes.

In a note published on Tuesday, MSCI stated that it has “determined at this time not to implement the proposal to exclude digital asset treasury companies from the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes as part of the February 2026 Index Review.”

However, it added that it intends to open a “broader consultation on the treatment of non-operating companies generally.” In October, the MSCI announced that it was consulting with the investment community about whether to exclude DATs that have the majority of their balance sheet in crypto.

MSCI’s indexes serve as critical benchmarks for passive investments and holdings. Remaining in MSCI indexes is crucial for DATs because it ensures access to passive index fund capital. It identifies “DATCOs” as companies in which 50% or more of their total assets are crypto assets.

$15 Billion Selling Pressure Eased

BitcoinForCorporations, a group campaigning against the proposal, projected outflows of up to $15 billion should DATs be excluded. Companies such as Michael Saylor’s Strategy would have been deeply impacted.

TODAY: MSCI has decided it will NOT exclude #Bitcoin treasuries from their global indexes.

🗒️ 1,500+ signatures
🏦 250+ organizations

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to @BitcoinForCorps efforts to defend index integrity.

Vires in numeris! 💪 pic.twitter.com/9cfq6X8H42

— Bitcoin For Corporations (@BitcoinForCorps) January 6, 2026

“Up to $15 billion in forced selling just got taken off the table,” commented macroeconomics outlet Milk Road.

“That removes a major overhang that markets were watching and avoids billions in forced selling. It also preserves access to trillions of dollars in index-tracked capital.”

Meanwhile, analyst ‘Bull Theory’ said that “This was the biggest reason behind the October 10th crash, which wiped out $19 billion in a single day.”

“This announcement will also end the MSTR [Strategy] FUD about being forced to sell their Bitcoin holdings worth billions,” he said before adding, “This is really bullish for the crypto market.”

“This is short-term giga bullish,” said analyst and investor Ted Pillows.

You may also like:

Strategy stock [MSTR] surged 6.7% in after-hours trading following the announcement, reflecting relief from uncertainty about potential exclusion.

No Reaction From Bitcoin

Although the news was very bullish for crypto, Bitcoin declined on the day, falling around 1% to $92,700 at the time of writing after a sharp dip to $91,500 in late Tuesday trading.

The asset remains at a monthly high, however, and at the upper bound of a six-week range-bound channel. It faces resistance at $94,500, a key level that needs to be broken for market momentum to continue.