Bitcoin Think Tank Challenges MSCI Index Proposal Targeting Crypto Treasuries

The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) has published a research paper titled "Wall Street's Invisible Committee," raising concerns about how MSCI developed its proposed rule to reclassify certain companies as "non-operating businesses" — a change that could strip Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake from major global indexes. BPI investigators discovered that the source presentation behind MSCI's consultation was stored in an internal folder for digital asset treasury companies, suggesting the broader language may have carried forward MSCI's earlier, shelved effort to specifically exclude crypto treasury firms from its benchmarks.

MSCI first proposed excluding digital asset treasury companies from its global indexes in 2025, but withdrew the plan in January following industry pushback. The firm then launched a wider review of "non-operating companies" more generally, unveiling an expanded proposal on Aug. 3. Under the new methodology, MSCI would first assess whether a company holds substantial operating assets before applying five additional financial tests. MSCI's own simulation confirmed that Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium investment company Yellow Cake would all be removed under the proposed framework.

The stakes are significant for crypto-exposed funds. JPMorgan analysts estimated in 2025 that Strategy alone could face approximately $2.8 billion in outflows if excluded from MSCI indexes, as funds tracking those benchmarks would be forced to sell their shares. BPI also flagged a deeper concern: MSCI's reliance on "operating assets" as a classification criterion, noting that the term is not a standardized balance-sheet category under U.S. GAAP or IFRS. This ambiguity, the think tank argued, gives MSCI considerable discretion in determining how assets like cash, investments, and other holdings are evaluated — potentially tilting the outcome against companies whose value is derived from accumulating crypto rather than generating traditional operating revenue.

MSCI has maintained that interim restrictions on affected digital asset treasury companies remain in place, including limits on new additions to its indexes, while the broader review continues. Cointelegraph reached out to MSCI for comment but did not receive a response before publication. The outcome of this consultation could reshape how institutional capital interacts with the growing class of publicly traded Bitcoin treasury companies, with ripple effects across the broader crypto market.