On 11 November 2026, MSCI will publish the final list of companies that its new "non-operating company" test pushes out of its global equity indexes. The two names most exposed are Strategy, the largest listed bitcoin holder, and Metaplanet, the Tokyo-listed firm that calls itself the second largest. For Asia, the detail is that Metaplanet is the only Asian company named in every report, and its shares closed at 277 yen on 16 October, according to CoinDesk, against a peak of 1,930 yen in June 2025.
The same date is the opening day of Web3 Week Asia, the crypto and blockchain event held on 11-12 November 2026 in Jakarta. As of 19 October 2026, that is 23 days away.
The rule does not ban bitcoin. It changes who is forced to own the shares of companies that hold it.
Decision. MSCI announced on 15 October 2026 (20:48 GMT) that it will implement its August proposal, with minor modifications, to classify non-operating companies as ineligible for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.
Test. Companies without substantial operating assets face five financial ratios; a company flagged on four or more of the five is ineligible, according to MSCI's announcement.
Timeline. Final list on 11 November 2026; the change takes effect at the close of 30 November 2026, with the November 2026 Index Review.
Exposure. Strategy held 848,250 BTC and Metaplanet reported 44,000 BTC as of 30 September 2026.
Market reaction. Strategy shares fell about 9.6% on 16 October 2026, from US$151.29 to US$136.83.
What MSCI actually decided
MSCI already excluded investment funds and other passive vehicles; the October decision extends that treatment to companies that resemble them. The method has two layers. A core screen asks whether a company holds substantial operating assets. If it does not, an exclusion screen applies five ratios that are not industry-specific. CoinDesk reports that these cover expenses, cash flow, changes in asset values and reliance on outside financing. MSCI's announcement does not publish the numeric cut-offs.
The second change is quieter but just as important. On 10 October 2025, MSCI had frozen share-count and inclusion-factor increases for companies whose digital assets were 50% or more of total assets, and deferred their additions. Those interim measures end with the November 2026 review. From then on, such companies are judged only by the new test.
Why it matters: the freeze capped how much index weight these companies could gain; the new rule decides whether they keep any.
The buffer that decides the November list
MSCI built in a timing buffer. A current index member is removed only if it fails the screen in each of its two most recent annual filing periods. A company that is not yet a member is blocked if it fails in either period.
This asymmetry is the overlooked detail: a member that fails once keeps its place for now, while a company hoping to join needs two clean periods.
MSCI ran a simulation on May 2026 data that flagged Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake, a UK uranium investment company, for deletion from its ACWI Investable Market Index, according to CoinDesk and Crypto Times. Unchained, republished by Yahoo Finance, reports that MSCI's current potential-deletion list also includes Upexi and an Icelandic company; that detail is single-sourced.
Shares, not coins
Index exclusion forces tracking funds to sell the shares. It does not require the company to sell bitcoin, as CoinDesk and Crypto Times both note.
The size of that share selling is an estimate, not a fact. JPMorgan analysts estimated in late 2025 that removing Strategy could trigger about US$2.8 billion in passive outflows, rising to about US$8.8 billion if other index providers adopted similar rules, according to CoinDesk and Crypto Times. Strategy has said funds tracking these indexes hold about 13 million of its shares, about 3.1% of basic shares outstanding.
The price damage on the shares is already large. Strategy's close of US$151.29 on 15 October was about 72% below its November 2024 record of US$543, according to CoinDesk. Metaplanet's close of 277 yen on 16 October was about 86% below its June 2025 peak of 1,930 yen (277 divided by 1,930 is 0.144). Bitcoin traded near US$82,000 on 18 October 2026, according to Coinbase data cited by Bitcoin News Digest.
The honest counterweight
The list is not final. Until 11 November 2026, the names on MSCI's current list are potential deletions. The outcome depends on each company's filings.
The outflow numbers are model estimates. The US$2.8 billion and US$8.8 billion figures come from a JPMorgan estimate made in late 2025, before the final rule text. They are not a measured flow.
No causal link to bitcoin's price is established. Bitcoin fell during the same week, but that week also had a hotter US inflation print and sharp equity selling in Seoul and Tokyo. No source establishes that the MSCI decision moved the bitcoin price.
What it means for Indonesia crypto investors
The Indonesian figures that exist describe direct trading on licensed platforms, not exposure through listed treasury companies. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported 23.21 million crypto consumer accounts in August 2026, up 1.23% month on month, and crypto transaction value of Rp23.16 trillion in August 2026, up 12.87% month on month, according to OJK figures reported by Antara and Suara on 5 October 2026. Those numbers measure activity on licensed platforms. An equity index rule does not reach those holdings.
The rule matters for Indonesia in a different way. Any Indonesian listed company that is, or hopes to become, an MSCI index member and that considered turning its balance sheet into a bitcoin treasury would now face the same core screen and five-ratio test. Because non-members are blocked after a single failed period, such a company would have no route into the index while it looked like a holding vehicle.
For the region, Metaplanet is the test case: if it is on the final list, Asia's largest corporate bitcoin treasury loses passive index demand at the end of November 2026.
Web3 Week Asia 2026: blockchain event in Jakarta, 11-12 November
Web3 Week Asia takes place on 11-12 November 2026 in Jakarta, at the Grand Ballroom at Kuningan City according to the official site. The programme runs across four tracks: Investor Meetups, Alpha Callers, Web3 Entrepreneur and Indonesia Crypto Outlook 2026. The official site listed the 2026 speaker line-up as to be announced soon, as of 2 October 2026.
The MSCI rule fits the investor and outlook tracks: how listed companies hold digital assets and how index rules shape demand. The 2025 edition drew more than 5,000 participants, over 100 speakers and more than 200 companies from more than 10 countries, according to the organisers.
Frequently asked questions
When and where is Web3 Week Asia 2026?
Web3 Week Asia 2026 takes place on 11-12 November 2026 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a two-day crypto and blockchain event covering markets, regulation, infrastructure and venture investment across Southeast Asia.
What is MSCI's non-operating company rule?
An eligibility test for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes, announced on 15 October 2026: companies without substantial operating assets that are flagged on four or more of five financial ratios are ineligible.
Will Strategy or Metaplanet have to sell bitcoin?
The rule contains no such requirement. Exclusion makes tracking funds sell the shares; selling bitcoin would be the company's own decision.
When will the affected companies be known?
MSCI will publish the final list on 11 November 2026 as part of its November 2026 Index Review. The changes take effect at the close of 30 November 2026.
Does the rule affect Indonesian crypto investors who trade on local exchanges?
Not directly. The rule applies to listed company shares in MSCI indexes. Crypto bought on OJK-licensed platforms is not part of those indexes.
Sources
MSCI announcement on the eligibility of non-operating companies: https://app2.msci.com/webapp/index_ann/DocGet?format=html&lang=en&pub_key=aq0wbkjxPgo%3D
CoinDesk report on the MSCI rules (16 October 2026): https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/16/msci-approves-rules-that-could-eject-strategy-metaplanet-from-equity-indexes
Rule text, the four-of-five threshold, buffers, the end of the October 2025 interim measures, the 11 November list and the 30 November effective date come from MSCI's announcement of 15 October 2026, cross-checked with CoinDesk and The Block (15-16 October 2026). Holdings: Strategy 848,250 BTC from CoinDesk (citing Bitcoin Treasuries) and Bitcoin News Digest; Metaplanet 44,000 BTC as of 30 September 2026 from crypto.news and Crypto Times. Share prices: Strategy closes from Bitcoin News Digest and Money365 market data (16 October 2026); Metaplanet's 277 yen close and 1,930 yen peak from CoinDesk (citing TradingView). Outflow estimates from JPMorgan as reported by CoinDesk and Crypto Times. Indonesia figures from OJK as reported by Antara and Suara (5 October 2026).
Methodology: The 72% and 86% declines are computed from closing prices against record highs (1 minus 151.29/543, and 1 minus 277/1,930). The 23-day countdown counts from 19 October to 11 November 2026. CoinDesk dated the MSCI announcement to Thursday, 16 October, while MSCI's own release is dated 15 October 2026 at 20:48 GMT; this article uses MSCI's date. One outlet, Startup Fortune, described the decision as MSCI keeping treasury firms in its indexes "for the time being"; this conflicts with MSCI's own release and was not used. The names on MSCI's potential-deletion list beyond Strategy, Metaplanet and Yellow Cake are single-sourced and are attributed. MSCI's numeric ratio thresholds were not available and are not stated.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
