Saylor, Ramaswamy Revolt Against MSCI’s ‘Anti-Crypto’ Index Rules

Strategy and Strive Asset Management have publicly slammed MSCI’s proposal to exclude companies with significant crypto holdings from its global indexes, opening a new division between traditional finance and the "Bitcoin Treasury" corporate model.

In a letter sent to the index provider on 10 Dec, Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor called the proposal "misguided" and "discriminatory," arguing that it penalizes companies for modern treasury management. The dispute centres on MSCI’s ongoing consultation to bar firms with digital asset holdings exceeding 50% of their total assets from core equity benchmarks, a move that could force billions in passive ETF capital to dump stocks like Strategy.

Former US presidential candidate and one-time Trump advisor Vivek Ramaswamy’s Strive Asset Management joined the fray, warning that MSCI’s exclusionary criteria would "distort market signals" and effectively de-platform Bitcoin-adjacent firms from the broader financial system.

Operating companies, not funds

The core of Saylor’s argument is structural. In his response to the consultation, he rejected MSCI’s premise that firms like Strategy "exhibit characteristics similar to investment funds."

"DATs [Digital Asset Treasuries] are operating businesses, not investment funds," Saylor wrote. He argued that Strategy uses its balance sheet to support its enterprise analytics business and that labeling it a proxy vehicle ignores its operational reality. If MSCI proceeds, Strategy, and potentially other firms like Metaplanet, would be segregated into niche indexes, cutting them off from the massive liquidity of generalist passive funds like the MSCI World Index.

The passive wall

The stakes are quantifiable. According to a recent note from JPMorgan, an exclusion from MSCI’s standard indices could trigger up to $8.8bn ($6.9bn) in forced outflows as index-tracking funds rebalance.

This creates a "passive wall" for companies looking to adopt the Bitcoin standard. If holding Bitcoin on the balance sheet automatically disqualifies a company from the S&P 500 or MSCI World, the cost of capital for those firms rises significantly. Strive’s letter, sent earlier this week, argued that this effectively allows index providers to act as shadow regulators, deciding which corporate strategies are permissible for public markets.

Next steps

MSCI’s consultation period closes on 31 Dec, with a final decision expected by 15 Jan 2026. If the rule is adopted, the changes would take effect in the February 2026 index review. Until then, the "Bitcoin Treasury" trade faces a significant structural overhang.