Yahoo Finance·2025-12-19 15:59Core Viewpoint - The potential exclusion of Michael Saylor's Strategy from MSCI and other major stock indexes could lead to a significant loss in demand for its shares, estimated at up to $9 billion, and negatively impact the broader cryptocurrency sector [1][8]. Group 1: MSCI's Proposal and Industry Impact - MSCI proposed to exclude companies with digital asset holdings representing 50% or more of their total assets from its global benchmarks, arguing they resemble investment funds [2]. - The exclusion could lead to significant outflows from passive asset managers, who hold approximately 30% of a large-cap company's free float, which is particularly concerning for the digital asset treasury (DAT) industry [5]. - Analysts suggest that if MSCI excludes DAT companies, other index providers are likely to follow suit, potentially affecting the eligibility of DATs in equity indexes overall [4]. Group 2: Financial Implications for Strategy - Shares of Strategy, which began as MicroStrategy, saw a 3,000% increase after starting to buy bitcoin in 2020, but have since fallen about 43% this year due to a slump in cryptocurrency values [3]. - Analysts estimate that $2.5 billion of Strategy's market value is derived from MSCI, with an additional $5.5 billion from other indexes, indicating a substantial financial risk if excluded [8]. - JPMorgan projects that Strategy could face $2.8 billion in outflows if excluded from MSCI, escalating to $8.8 billion if removed from other indexes like the Nasdaq 100 and various Russell indexes [8]. Group 3: Industry Sentiment and Reactions - Strategy's leadership, including Michael Saylor, has downplayed concerns regarding potential exclusion, although they acknowledge that it could lead to $2.8 billion in stock liquidation and "chill" the industry [6]. - The proposed exclusion could effectively shut DATs out of the $15 trillion passive-investment market, significantly weakening their competitive position [7].