MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares fell 9.56% to $136.83 on October 16, the first full trading session after MSCI announced on October 15 that companies which primarily hold assets rather than operate a business will lose index eligibility.
The selloff affected the stock price but not the company's underlying bitcoin holdings. MicroStrategy's latest SEC filing shows the company holds 848,250 BTC purchased at an average cost of $75,444 per coin for a total of $64 billion. With bitcoin trading near $81,434, the holdings are worth approximately $69.1 billion, representing a paper gain of roughly $5.08 billion or about 7.9% above cost.
Trading volume surged as 31.8 million MSTR shares changed hands, approximately 1.44 times the normal level. Other bitcoin-focused equities also declined on the day: Mara Holdings dropped 9.6%, Riot Platforms fell 11.5%, and Coinbase declined 5.8%, suggesting broader market pressures beyond the MSCI announcement. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1% overall.
MicroStrategy's preferred shares (STRC) closed at $97.72, down from $99.53, though the company holds approximately 3.5 years of dividend coverage in its U.S. dollar reserves. MicroStrategy plans to begin paying daily dividends on the preferred shares in November, a feature designed to support the preferred share price.
Key dates ahead:
- November 11: MSCI publishes its final list of affected constituents
- November 30: New MSCI rules take effect after the close, with deletions taking effect at the November index review
Existing MSCI members generally must fail the index criteria in two consecutive annual reviews before removal. MSCI has estimated MicroStrategy could face approximately $2.8 billion in passive outflows if removed from the index.
