MSCI confirmed Wednesday that it will remove Strategy (MSTR), Japan's Metaplanet, and crypto treasury firm Upexi from its indexes, effective after the close on November 30. Strategy stock fell 2.6% to $119.06 in after-hours trading following the announcement.
Strategy will be deleted from the MSCI USA Index, while Metaplanet exits the Japan Small Cap Index on the same date. Ether treasury firm Sharplink was not removed and remains on a watchlist.
JPMorgan estimated in October that Strategy's removal could trigger approximately $2.8 billion in selling. However, Strategy characterizes the potential impact differently, noting that MSCI-linked funds hold about 13 million of its shares, representing 3.1% of its basic outstanding stock and less than one day of trading volume.
New Eligibility Rules
MSCI adopted new eligibility criteria for non-operating companies last month that examine a firm's operating assets and five financial measures. The rules replace temporary limits that previously targeted companies holding at least half their assets in cryptocurrency. A company faces removal if it fails the screening in its two latest annual filing periods.
Strategy objected to the new requirements. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and Phong Le characterized the treatment of digital asset treasuries as "discriminatory" in a September letter to MSCI. The company argued that exclusion would not damage its business and that the move would undermine MSCI's credibility as a neutral index provider. Strategy also contended that the proposal essentially repackaged MSCI's earlier effort to exclude digital asset treasury firms.
