MSCI drops Strategy from its US index, effective 30 November

What MSCI decided

MSCI removed Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) from its US index. The index provider published the results of its November review on 11 November, and the changes apply at the close on 30 November. Strategy also loses its place in the MSCI World index, according to Reuters, which MSCI cited in the same review.

The removal follows rules MSCI adopted on 15 October. Under those rules, companies that are not operating businesses are no longer eligible for the Global Investable Market Indexes. The methodology replaces a provisional rule for companies whose digital assets made up at least 50% of total assets, and it applies from the November review.

MSCI first checks a company's operating assets, then applies five financial indicators. A company that fails at least four of the five is considered ineligible. Existing index members are removed only if they fail the test in each of their two most recent annual financial statements, a safeguard meant to limit turnover.

Who else is affected

Strategy is one of 24 deletions from the MSCI USA Index in the review. MSCI also removed Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, Reuters reported. Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake had already been flagged as problematic in a simulation based on data from May 2026. Sharplink is on a watchlist of other digital-asset treasury companies.

Many ETFs track these indexes, including funds held by savers in Germany. Those funds must sell the shares as well. The focus is on passive funds.

The estimated cost

Analysts at JPMorgan estimated that excluding Strategy could trigger sales of about $2.8 billion from funds that track MSCI indexes. The bank calculated that figure on the basis of MSCI's earlier proposal on digital assets, not the final rules.

Strategy said in August that funds tracking MSCI indexes held about 13 million of its shares, or 3.1% of outstanding common stock, Bitcoin.com News reported.

The market moved first

The market did not wait for the decision. The day after the rules were finalised, Strategy fell almost 10%. MSTR closed at $121.07 on 10 November, after $145.16 on 28 October. On 11 November, the day of the decision, the stock closed at $122.35.

Bitcoin fell alongside it and traded at about $73,470 on Kraken at around 07:10 CET on 12 November. The crypto trader Kaleo wrote on X the day before the decision that the news was likely already priced in. Kaleo also revisited a question from the summer: whether Strategy could run short of cash and be forced to sell BTC to meet obligations. He now considers that unlikely, writing that the company has shown it is willing to adjust metrics to justify diluting common shareholders so it can raise large amounts of capital without selling large amounts of BTC.

Strategy keeps buying

Strategy has not slowed its purchases. According to its mandatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company bought 1,036 BTC between 2 and 8 November, raising its holdings to 850,364 BTC. It also spent $188.3 million to repurchase STRC preferred shares. Strategy financed both through sales of MSTR stock.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le had called MSCI's plan discriminatory toward companies holding digital assets. In a September letter, Strategy said the proposal would have no significant effect on its business and argued it would damage MSCI's reputation as a neutral index provider. Critics point to dilution: one analyst who covers the company puts share dilution in 2026 so far at 36%, above the four-year median of 34%.

What is still open

The removal does not affect Strategy's Nasdaq listing, but it takes away a steady source of passive demand for the stock whose proceeds fund its Bitcoin purchases. Index funds must now rebalance around the 30 November cut-off. How large the forced sales are depends on how much traders have already priced in. The five-indicator test will apply again at every future review.