Strategy, the biggest Bitcoin treasury firm, provided feedback to index firm MSCI on Wednesday on the proposed policy change that might exclude digital asset treasury firms that hold 50% or more in crypto on their balance sheets from inclusion within the stock market index.
Digital asset treasury corporations are operating corporations that may actively adapt their businesses, the letter said, citing Strategy's Bitcoin-backed lending instruments for example.
The proposed policy change would put MSCI at an obstacle in comparison with crypto as an asset class, relatively than the index company acting as a neutral arbiter, the letter said.
On the primary page of Strategy's letter to MSCI, the corporate objects to the proposed change in eligibility criteria. Source: Strategy
According to Strategy, the MSCI doesn’t exclude other forms of corporations that spend money on a single asset class, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil corporations and media portfolios. The letter said:
“Many financial institutions primarily hold certain forms of assets after which pool and sell derivatives backed by those assets, reminiscent of residential mortgage-backed securities.”
The letter also said that implementing the change “undermines” US President Donald Trump’s goal of constructing the United States the worldwide leader in crypto. However, critics argue that including crypto treasury corporations in global indices poses several risks.
Crypto treasury corporations may cause systemic risks and spillover effects
According to MSCI, crypto treasury corporations exhibit characteristics of investment funds relatively than operating corporations that produce goods and services.
MSCI noted that corporations betting on cryptocurrencies lack clear and consistent valuation methodologies, which makes proper accounting a difficult task and might potentially distort index values.
At the time of writing, Strategy held 660,624 BTC on its balance sheet. According to Yahoo Finance, the stock has lost over 50% of its value within the last 12 months.
Bitcoin (BTC) can also be 15% below its value at the beginning of 2025, when it traded above $109,000, meaning the underlying asset has outperformed the stock shell.
According to a Federal Reserve paper, the high volatility of cryptocurrencies may increase the volatility of the indices that track these corporations or create correlation risks if the index performance were to reflect the performance of the crypto market.
The “sharing” of leverage by crypto traders increases volatility and contributes to the fragility of crypto as an asset class, the Federal Reserve wrote.
MSCI's proposed policy change, set to take effect in January, could also lead to treasury firms divesting their crypto holdings to satisfy latest index eligibility criteria, creating additional selling pressure in digital asset markets.
