Strategy has filed formal opposition to Morgan Stanley Capital International's proposal to exclude certain companies from its Global Investable Market Indexes. In a letter to MSCI, Strategy founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le characterized the proposal as discriminatory against digital asset businesses.
MSCI announced earlier this month that it was consulting on a plan to define "non-operating companies" and make them ineligible for inclusion in its Global Investable Market Indexes. The removal would exclude firms like Strategy from indexes accessible to a large pool of institutional investors.
Strategy argued that MSCI is using unprecedented classifications to target Bitcoin holdings as "non-operating" assets. The company stated it reports its Bitcoin business as an operating segment with gains and losses classified as operating expenses, consistent with established accounting principles.
This marks the second exclusion attempt by MSCI. In 2025, the index provider proposed excluding all companies whose digital asset holdings represent 50% or more of total assets. MSCI subsequently withdrew that proposal.
Strategy, an enterprise software company that pivoted to acquiring and holding Bitcoin beginning in 2020, is the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. The company holds 845,050 bitcoins. Strategy employs 1,500 people globally and characterizes itself as an operating company actively using its Bitcoin holdings to create shareholder value.
Strategy's stock trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR. The shares closed Monday trading 4% higher, though the stock is down 15% year-to-date. Investors can purchase Strategy's publicly listed shares to gain exposure to Bitcoin's performance.
