Strive Requests MSCI to Withdraw Plan to Exclude Significant BTC Holders

Strive, a company listed on Nasdaq and the 14th-largest public holder of Bitcoin, is opposing MSCI’s initiative to exclude firms with substantial digital-asset exposure from its global indexes.

Key Takeaways:

• Strive contends that MSCI’s strategy to eliminate crypto-heavy companies would prevent investors from accessing crucial growth sectors.
• JPMorgan warns that the strategy could incur losses of up to $2.8 billion under the proposed changes.
• Strive asserts that companies focused on Bitcoin are essential to the infrastructure of AI and structured finance, rendering the exclusion unjust.

In a letter to MSCI chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez, the firm cautioned that the proposal, which aims to exclude companies with crypto holdings exceeding 50% of total assets, could effectively bar passive investors from rapidly expanding areas of the market.

JPMorgan Warns Strategy Could Lose $2.8B Under MSCI Proposal

Analysts at JPMorgan have recently warned that Strategy, a notable Bitcoin treasury firm included in the MSCI World Index, might face losses of as much as $2.8 billion if the exclusion proceeds.

Michael Saylor, chair of Strategy, has confirmed that talks with MSCI are ongoing as the firm seeks to prevent the decision.

Strive CEO Matt Cole argued that the proposal fails to recognize the significant role that large Bitcoin-centric firms play in developing industries, especially artificial intelligence.

He pointed out that miners like MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8, all potential candidates for exclusion, are swiftly advancing into AI infrastructure by adapting data centers for high-intensity computing tasks.

“Many analysts suggest that the AI race is increasingly constrained by access to power rather than semiconductors,” Cole noted, emphasizing that miners are uniquely equipped to fulfill those requirements.

https://t.co/5gdKWpFATh

— Matt Cole (@ColeMacro) December 5, 2025

Even as AI revenue grows, he stated, companies will continue to maintain significant Bitcoin reserves, indicating that MSCI’s exclusion would permanently isolate a sector positioned at the convergence of digital assets and next-generation computing.

Cole also highlighted the increasing demand for Bitcoin-related financial products. Companies like Strategy and Metaplanet operate similarly to banks that offer structured BTC notes, providing equity-based access to Bitcoin performance without necessitating direct ownership of the asset by investors.

He argued that excluding these treasury firms would create an uneven playing field for traditional financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, as index-linked capital would become biased against companies whose business models are centered on Bitcoin exposure.

Strive Says MSCI’s 50% Rule Would Cause Index “Whiplash”

Strive further questioned the feasibility of MSCI’s 50% threshold, pointing out that linking index eligibility to a volatile asset would result in companies fluctuating in and out of benchmarks, thereby increasing tracking errors for funds that follow them.

Cole cited Trump Media & Technology Group as an example. Despite possessing one of the largest public Bitcoin treasuries, it narrowly escaped MSCI’s preliminary exclusion list because its BTC exposure currently remains just below the cutoff.

Rather than implementing a blanket rule, Strive suggested a parallel “ex-digital asset treasury” version of MSCI’s indexes.

This would enable asset managers who prefer to avoid crypto-heavy companies to do so, while allowing others to retain exposure to the entire investable universe.

MSCI has not yet signaled whether it will amend its proposal, but industry pressure is increasing as treasury-heavy firms await a final determination.

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