MSCI Index Adjustments May Trigger $15 Billion Cryptocurrency Treasury Liquidation

MSCI’s initiative to exclude digital asset treasury firms from its Global Investable Market Indexes has sparked significant backlash from industry figures, with analysts cautioning that this action could lead to selling pressure of $10 billion to $15 billion across 39 companies that collectively possess $113 billion in float-adjusted market capitalization.

Source: BitcoinForCorporation

The consultation period concludes on December 31, with a final determination anticipated on January 15, 2026, focusing on firms whose digital asset holdings surpass 50% of their total assets, with implementation planned for February’s Index Review.

Strategy Inc. formally contested the proposal in a letter dated December 10, signed by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le, describing the move as “misguided” and likely to have “profoundly harmful consequences” for capital markets and the leadership of U.S. digital assets.

The firm contended that the proposal is at odds with the current administration’s pro-innovation digital asset agenda, which includes initiatives like a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and efforts to broaden retirement plan access to digital assets.

Operating Companies Face Investment Fund Classification

Strategy’s primary argument focuses on differentiating operating businesses from passive investment entities.

The company highlighted that it manages a Bitcoin-backed corporate treasury and capital markets program, issuing equity and fixed-income instruments with varying degrees of Bitcoin exposure.

BitcoinForCorporations’ technical assessment indicates that MSCI’s proposal contravenes fundamental benchmark principles of representativeness, neutrality, and stability as per IOSCO and BMR standards.

We outline the potential ramifications of MSCI’s proposed 50% DAT exclusion rule: https://t.co/ceJZU0dRTP pic.twitter.com/5CixFrEYVR

— George Mekhail (@gmekhail) December 17, 2025

The organization points out that MSCI has historically included REITs despite their 75% concentration in real estate, Berkshire Hathaway with its extensive investment portfolio, and mining firms with significant gold reserves.

However, it has never excluded operating companies based on their treasury asset composition.

Strategy cautioned that MSCI’s 50% threshold is arbitrary, noting that crypto volatility and differing accounting standards could lead companies to “whipsaw on and off” indices as valuations change.

Industry Coalition Challenges Methodology

Strive Asset Management also expressed opposition on December 6, with CEO Matt Cole asserting that the proposal misinterprets the role of Bitcoin-centric firms in AI infrastructure.

Miners such as MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8 are adapting data centers for high-intensity AI tasks. “Many analysts contend that the AI race is increasingly constrained by access to power, rather than semiconductors,” Cole stated.

Strive suggested a parallel “ex-digital asset treasury” index version, permitting selective avoidance while preserving full market exposure for others.

Currently, BitcoinForCorporations’ petition against the exclusion has garnered over 1,000 signatures, while Bitwise Asset Management has also expressed support for the strategy, asserting “the power of a great index lies in its neutrality.”

Bitwise supports @Strategy inclusion in MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes. https://t.co/TXtKb8SvAN pic.twitter.com/sOa4v6sCyh

— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) December 11, 2025

Financial Impact Analysis Reveals Concentrated Risk

Previously, JPMorgan analysts estimated that Strategy alone could experience $2.8 billion in outflows, with $9 billion of its market capitalization held by passive funds.

BitcoinForCorporations’ analysis anticipates total forced selling between $10 billion and $15 billion, with tracking error varying from 15 to 150 basis points, depending on volatility, which could be particularly detrimental to institutional mandates with 20 to 50 basis point tracking tolerances.

Source: BitcoinForCorporation

The preliminary list includes 18 current constituents representing $98 billion in float-adjusted market capitalization facing immediate removal, accounting for 87% of the total capital impact.

An additional 21 non-constituents, valued at $15 billion, face permanent exclusion, representing significant pre-emptive blocking in MSCI’s methodology. Strategy constitutes 74.5% of the total impacted market cap at $84.1 billion.

Implementation costs are projected to range from $50 million to $225 million across index families, with turnover costs between 5 to 25 basis points. The MSCI ACWI is expected to face the highest estimated impact, ranging from $55 million to $225 million.

In a conversation with Cryptonews, Farzam Ehsani, Co-founder and CEO of VALR, noted that markets are factoring in potential forced flows.

“The market is evaluating not only the likelihood of a decline in stock prices of companies whose balance sheets are linked to Bitcoin’s movements but also potential chain reactions within funds utilizing these indices as benchmarks,” Ehsani remarked.

Affected companies collectively hold over $137 billion in digital assets.

The industry is awaiting MSCI’s decision on January 15. Strategy urged MSCI to reject the proposal, asserting that “the wiser course is for MSCI to remain neutral and let the markets determine the course of DATs.”

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