The stock index giant announces a rethink on the classification of companies holding digital assets.
Financial index provider MSCI has announced that it has abandoned plans to exclude so-called Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCOs) from its global equity benchmarks. These are companies whose holdings in digital assets represent at least 50% of total assets.
The decision represents a win for companies like Strategy, whose stock jumped 6% in after-hours trading.
MSCI’s reversal maintains the status quo for firms that have built their corporate strategy around accumulating bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to the company, the current methodology will remain in place while a broader study is conducted on how to treat companies holding significant amounts of non-operational assets.
“Distinguishing between investment companies and other companies that hold non-operating assets, such as digital assets, as part of their core operations rather than for investment purposes requires further research and consultation with market participants,” MSCI said.
When MSCI initially proposed the exclusion at the end of 2025, market analysts sounded the alarm: such a move could have triggered $10–15 billion in sales across dozens of publicly listed companies with digital asset treasuries.
JPMorgan estimated that passive outflows tied solely to MSCI indices could have reached around $2.8 billion for Strategy if index funds had been forced to liquidate positions.
Strategy welcomed the decision, posting on X:
MSCI said it had taken into account investor concerns that some DATCOs behave more like investment funds than operational companies. Investment funds, traditionally, are not allowed in the provider’s equity benchmarks.
For this reason, the company is working on new evaluation parameters that may include measures based on financial statements and other distinguishing indicators. The review will extend beyond companies with cryptocurrency treasuries, encompassing a broader reflection on how to classify firms holding various types of non-operational assets.
