MSCI’s Proposed Five-Ratio Test Could Push Strategy and Metaplanet Out of the Index

MSCI’s new proposal to separate non-operating companies from indices poses a risk of exclusion for Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake if adopted.

MSCI launched a new consultation process for the Global Investable Market Indexes in August 2026. Rather than setting a fixed threshold for crypto asset holdings, the institution proposes measuring whether companies are actually operating using five financial ratios.

In the first stage, it is examined whether operating assets constitute more than 50 percent of total assets. Companies that meet this condition do not proceed to the second test. For those that do not, five ratios measuring operating asset density, expense density, cash flow, fair value density, and capital dependence come into play. A company that fails four of these tests is deemed ineligible for the index.

New MSCI Screening Targets Three Companies

When MSCI applied the proposal to the MSCI ACWI IMI using May 2026 data, it calculated that three companies would be removed: Nasdaq-listed Strategy, Tokyo-listed Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake, which holds uranium rather than Bitcoin.

Strategy holds the position of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin-holding company, having accumulated 840,447 BTC since 2020. Metaplanet’s portfolio includes 43,000 BTC.

This approach differs from a previous proposal opened in October 2025, which targeted digital asset treasury companies holding at least 50 percent of their assets in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. That draft, covering 39 companies, was postponed following industry backlash.

The decision is not yet final. Feedback from market participants will conclude on September 30, and the result will be announced on October 16. If the proposal is accepted, the changes will be included in the November 2026 index review.