Strategy has hit back at MSCI after the index provider opened a consultation that could see the Bitcoin treasury company removed from its Global Investable Market Indexes, declaring that it “doesn’t need” Morgan Stanley Capital International.

MSCI said in a consultation that it is weighing a plan to define “Non-Operating Companies” and make them ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI). The removal of such companies would exclude firms like Strategy from indexes that are visible to a large pool of institutional investors. The index provider said it is considering the decision because Strategy is primarily known for holding a large amount of Bitcoin rather than running a traditional operating business.

The company responded on Friday, August 14, with a post on X:

Digital assets are assets. Index providers should measure markets, not decide which assets companies are allowed to own. MSCI’s proposal puts it out of step with regulators, markets, and its own customers. Bitcoin doesn’t need MSCI. Neither does Strategy. $BTC $MSTR

— Strategy (@Strategy), August 14, 2026

“Digital assets are assets,” Strategy wrote. “Index providers should measure markets, not decide which assets companies are allowed to own. MSCI’s proposal puts it out of step with regulators, markets, and its own customers.” It added: “Bitcoin doesn’t need MSCI. Neither does Strategy.”

The consultation also covers Japanese Bitcoin treasury Metaplanet, which trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and uranium investment company Yellow Cake.

Based on financial filings as of May 2026, Strategy and Metaplanet already meet the criteria for removal under MSCI’s proposed rule. If MSCI adopts the proposal as currently written and the companies’ financial profiles remain unchanged, both would be deleted from the MSCI ACWI IMI Index as part of the November 2026 Index Review — a step that would trigger forced selling by index-tracking funds and the loss of future passive inflows.

The issue matters because index membership can affect how widely a stock is held across passive and benchmark-linked portfolios, even when a company’s day-to-day business remains unchanged. For Strategy, whose shares already trade as a Bitcoin proxy for some investors, the consultation adds a new market-structure question to an ongoing debate over how index providers classify companies built around digital asset reserves.

The outcome is not yet settled. MSCI is gathering feedback on the proposal through September 30 and has explicitly said the consultation “may or may not result in changes to MSCI indexes,” meaning the rule could be modified, delayed, or dropped entirely based on responses from affected companies and market participants. Even if the proposal is adopted, changes to a company’s underlying financials before the review could also shift the result.

Nasdaq-listed Strategy — formerly MicroStrategy — started buying Bitcoin in August 2020 as a way to generate better returns for its shareholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has since spent around $63.3 billion on the cryptocurrency and is the largest corporate holder of the asset. The company’s shares give investors a way to gain exposure to the leading cryptocurrency without having to buy and hold digital coins themselves.

Strategy’s approach has spawned a long list of copycat firms that have bought not only Bitcoin but also other cryptocurrencies in an effort to boost their stock prices.

Strategy’s stock (MSTR) was trading nearly 3% lower Friday at nearly $95 per share. The stock has dropped nearly 40% year to date.

This article was first published by Bitcoin Magazine and written by Mathew Di Salvo.