MSCI has opened a new consultation that could exclude Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Metaplanet (OTC:MTPLF) from its global indexes.

What The New Proposal Actually Says

According to MSCI’s August 2026 consultation document, the new screen works in two steps.

Step One: The 50% Core Asset Test

MSCI first checks whether a company’s core business assets, the operations it actually runs day to day, make up more than 50% of everything it owns. 

Companies that pass this check stay in the index with no further scrutiny.

Step Two: Five Financial Ratios

Companies that fail move to a second test covering five financial ratios, essentially five yes-or-no questions about whether the company runs a real business, generates its own cash, and doesn’t rely entirely on outside capital to grow. 

Failing four out of five results in exclusion from the index.

Who Fails the Test Right Now

When MSCI ran this test against May 2026 data, three companies failed outright: Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium holder Yellow Cake. 

SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET) and two others landed on a watchlist, meaning one more weak year would remove them too. 

Existing index members get slightly more protection than new entrants, since they must fail the screens in two consecutive annual reviews before removal, rather than on a single filing.

Why Does This Look Like a Repeat of Late 2025?

MSCI opened a similar consultation in October 2025, targeting digital asset treasury companies whose crypto holdings represented at least 50% of total assets. 

After industry backlash and opposition from Strategy, which argued the threshold was arbitrary and would cause companies to move repeatedly in and out of indexes as Bitcoin prices fluctuated, MSCI declined to implement the rule in its February 2026 review.

Strategy shares jumped 6% in after-hours trading the day MSCI announced the reprieve, as Benzinga reported. 

MSCI simultaneously promised a broader review of non-operating companies, and the August 2026 proposal is that review delivered.

The new screen is deliberately asset-neutral and not explicitly about cryptocurrency, but Strategy and Metaplanet land on the simulated deletion list regardless. 

Strategy holds 840,447 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) worth roughly $53 billion. Meanwhile, Metaplanet holds 43,000 BTC worth over $2 billion.

What Happens Next?

MSCI has invited feedback through September 30, with results expected by October 16. 

Any resulting changes would be folded into the November 2026 index review if the proposal passes.

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