Strive warns MSCI: excluding Bitcoin‑treasury firms undermines index neutrality

MSCI, the major global index provider behind widely used equity benchmarks such as MSCI World is considering a proposal to exclude firms whose digital‑asset holdings (notably Bitcoin) exceed 50 % of total assets. Under the draft rule, companies whose primary business involves “digital asset treasury” activity could be removed from standard indexes. 

In response, Vivek Ramaswamy's Strive Asset Management has fired back with a detailed letter, addressed to MSCI’s CEO, arguing the rule would compromise the neutrality and representativeness of passive indices.

According to the letter, more than just “holding companies,” many of the firms flagged under the proposal are operating businesses, ranging across structured finance, AI‑driven infrastructure, and digital‑asset‑backed financial products, that provide real services beyond simply storing Bitcoin. 

Strive, which ranks among the world’s top 15 publicly disclosed corporate Bitcoin holders, says the 50 % threshold is “unjustified, overbroad and unworkable.” The firm warns that the rule would force passive investors to take a view on Bitcoin adoption, a decision MSCI should not make. Strive also notes that different accounting standards (e.g. U.S. GAAP vs IFRS) treat crypto holdings differently, meaning identical economic exposures could be treated inconsistently depending on domicile, thus undermining fairness and comparability for global investors. 

Instead of a blanket ban, Strive proposes that MSCI preserve existing broad benchmarks but offer optional “ex‑Digital Asset Treasury” index variants. Under such a scheme, institutions uneasy about crypto exposure could adopt the exclusion‑ary version, while others could continue tracking a full investable universe, preserving both investor choice and index neutrality. 

The stakes are substantial. Among firms likely to be impacted is Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), the largest public Bitcoin‑holding company, which currently holds around 650,000 BTC. Analysts at JPMorgan have warned that forced exclusion from major indexes could trigger billions of dollars in passive outflows from funds tracking MSCI, a dynamic that could ripple across the broader corporate Bitcoin sector. 

For the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, this showdown between MSCI and Strive marks a critical inflection point. If MSCI proceeds, many publicly‑listed Bitcoin treasury companies risk being frozen out of mainstream passive capital. If Strive prevails or if investors push back it could enshrine corporate Bitcoin holders within traditional investment infrastructure, potentially accelerating adoption by funds and institutional investors.

The final decision is expected by 15 January 2026.