Strategy is opposing a new MSCI proposal that could exclude it from the index provider’s Global Investable Market Indexes, saying Bitcoin treasury companies are being targeted for a second time.
In a letter sent to MSCI on Monday, Strategy founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le said the proposal was misguided and flawed, and argued that the company was being discriminated against because of its digital-asset business.
MSCI consults on excluding “non-operating companies”
Earlier this month, MSCI said it was consulting on a plan to define non-operating companies and make them ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes.
Removing those companies would leave firms such as Strategy out of indexes tracked by a broad pool of institutional investors.
Strategy also responded publicly on X, writing: 「While not material to $MSTR, the proposal is misguided, flawed, and conflicts with established securities laws and accounting principles. Read our letter and share your support.」
Company compares the move with a withdrawn 2025 proposal
According to Strategy, the latest proposal follows an earlier MSCI plan in 2025 that sought to exclude from its indexes all companies whose digital-asset holdings represented 50% or more of total assets.
In its letter, the company wrote: 「MSCI’s continued effort to discriminate against digital assets is misguided and calls into question MSCI’s neutrality and reliability.」
It added: 「The proposal, like the 2025 proposal that MSCI withdrew, is discriminatory, arbitrary, and misguided. If adopted, the proposal would have no meaningful impact on Strategy’s business, but it would profoundly harm MSCI’s reputation as a reliable and neutral index provider. Like the 2025 proposal, the current proposal should be withdrawn.」
Strategy disputes MSCI’s treatment of Bitcoin
Strategy said MSCI was relying on an unprecedented classification to define Bitcoin as a non-operating asset.
The company said it reports its Bitcoin business as an operating segment and records Bitcoin gains and losses as operating expenses. It also argued that MSCI’s methodology for identifying non-operating companies was arbitrary, unexplained, and amounted to unfair targeting of digital-asset treasury firms.
Strategy further said it is an operating company, employs 1,500 people around the world, and actively uses its Bitcoin holdings to create shareholder value.
Strategy says it holds 845,050 BTC
Formerly known as MicroStrategy, Strategy is an enterprise software company that shifted to buying and holding Bitcoin in 2020. The company first bought the cryptocurrency to protect shareholders and later continued to build its position aggressively.
It now says it is the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 845,050 BTC worth $65.8 billion at current prices. Investors can buy the company’s Nasdaq-listed stock, MSTR, for amplified exposure to Bitcoin’s performance.
MSTR closed Monday up 4%. The stock is down 15% year to date.
This report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.