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Bitcoin treasury companies Strategy and Metaplanet could be removed from MSCI’s global equity indexes under a proposed methodology for identifying non-operating companies. Uranium investment company Yellow Cake would also be removed based on MSCI’s simulation using May 2026 data.
The proposal is not yet final. MSCI is accepting feedback through September 30 and expects to announce the consultation results by October 16, with any changes potentially implemented during the November 2026 Index Review.
MSCI Simulation Flags Three Companies for Removal
MSCI’s simulated impact analysis identified Strategy, Yellow Cake and Metaplanet as three current constituents that would be deleted under the proposed rules. Strategy was classified in the large-cap GIMI family, while Yellow Cake and Metaplanet were classified as small-cap constituents.
SharpLink, an Ether treasury company, would not be immediately removed. MSCI’s simulation placed it on a proposed public watchlist after its latest filing met the methodology’s conditions for further monitoring. MSCI requires existing constituents to meet its deletion conditions across two consecutive annual filing periods before removal.
New Rules Target Non-Operating Companies
MSCI’s proposal would expand existing rules that already exclude investment funds and business development companies. The new methodology is designed to identify corporate issuers with similar investment-oriented characteristics using their financial statements.
A company would first face a core test based on whether operating assets exceed 50% of total assets. Companies failing that test would then be assessed using five measures covering operating assets, expenses, cash flow, fair-value changes and reliance on external financing.
Triggering at least four of the five flags would make a new company ineligible, while existing constituents would be subject to MSCI’s separate monitoring and deletion rules. MSCI said:
“It proposes to expand this exclusion by defining additional non-operating companies as ineligible for inclusion in the MSCI GIMI indexes.”
Proposal Extends Beyond Crypto Treasuries
Yellow Cake’s inclusion in the simulated removals shows that the proposed methodology is broader than digital asset treasury companies. The UK-listed company primarily provides exposure to physical uranium rather than operating a traditional production business.
MSCI previously decided in January not to adopt a separate proposal targeting digital asset treasury companies. At the time, it said it would instead conduct a broader review of non-operating companies, leading to the methodology now under consultation.
