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Strive: MSCI’s Bitcoin Policy Could Block Exposure to Fastest-Growing Sectors
Nasdaq-listed Strive, one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury holders, has called on global index provider MSCI to walk back its proposal to remove companies with significant digital-asset exposure from major equity indexes. In a letter sent to MSCI chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez, Strive warned that excluding firms whose Bitcoin holdings exceed 50% of total assets would distort index composition and harm passive investors seeking exposure to emerging growth sectors.
Concerns Over Market Impact
According to Strive, removing these companies would fail to target the intended firms while shutting out businesses that play a key role in the digital asset ecosystem. The potential consequences could be severe: JPMorgan analysts have cautioned that Strategy, a major Bitcoin treasury company included in the MSCI World Index, could face losses of up to $2.8 billion if the proposal is enacted. Strategy chair Michael Saylor has confirmed ongoing discussions with MSCI as the firm evaluates the implications.
Bitcoin Treasuries at the Center of the AI Power Race
Strive CEO Matt Cole highlighted that major miners — including MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 — are rapidly transforming their data-center operations to supply infrastructure for the surging AI computing industry. Cole noted that analysts increasingly view power access, not chips, as the bottleneck in AI growth. Excluding these companies, he argued, would prevent clients from participating in “the fastest-growing part of the global economy.”
Structured Bitcoin Finance and Threshold Risks
Cole also pointed to the growing market for Bitcoin-linked structured finance, emphasizing that companies like Strategy and Metaplanet offer products comparable to structured notes issued by major banks. He called the proposed 50% threshold “unworkable”, as Bitcoin’s volatility could force companies to “flicker” in and out of indexes and complicate measurement through derivatives and ETFs.
Strive Proposes Alternative Indexes
Instead of broad exclusions, Strive urged MSCI to create “ex-digital asset treasury” versions of existing benchmarks, allowing asset owners to choose whether to avoid firms with large Bitcoin holdings without reshaping the core investable universe.
