Company argues MSCI’s plan risks distorting global equity benchmarks and undermining U.S. competitiveness
Strategy has pushed back against a new proposal from MSCI that would bar companies holding 50% or more of their assets in digital assets from inclusion in major global equity indices. In a formal response letter, Strategy urged MSCI to maintain neutral and consistent index standards, warning that the suggested threshold is “arbitrary, unworkable and harmful to innovation.”
Led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, the company argued that digital asset treasury companies (DATs) are fundamentally operating businesses, not passive investment funds. The letter emphasized that Strategy uses its bitcoin holdings as productive corporate capital, supporting activities such as bitcoin-backed credit products, an active treasury management program and a global enterprise analytics software division.
According to the company, investors purchase Strategy shares based on its business model and management strategy, not as a simple proxy for bitcoin exposure. Excluding such firms from benchmark indices, the letter warned, would misrepresent market dynamics and punish legitimate corporate treasuries that allocate to digital assets.
The firm also highlighted potential economic consequences, saying MSCI’s framework could weaken U.S. competitiveness by discouraging corporate participation in the digital asset economy.
The proposal has already weighed on Strategy’s share price. With bitcoin under pressure and the company’s mNAV premium narrowing, news of the MSCI plan contributed to a sharper decline as investors assessed the risk of losing billions in passive index-driven capital flows. The firm maintains that excluding DATs would distort global equity benchmarks and fail to reflect the evolving role of digital assets in modern corporate finance.
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