The shares of Michael Saylor’s software intelligence and Bitcoin treasury company, Strategy (MSTR), rose over 6% during after-hours trading on Tuesday after MSCI decided not to remove digital asset treasury companies (DATs) from its benchmark global equity indexes in the upcoming February review.
MSCI, a leading American financial services firm that provides critical decision support tools and services to the investment community, said it will maintain existing classifications unchanged while reassessing how “non-operating companies” like Strategy should be treated.
MSCI Withdraws Decision To Exclude Digital Asset Treasury Companies From Its Global Indexes
On January 6, MSCI stated that distinguishing between investment companies and firms that hold digital assets as part of their core operations, rather than for investment purposes, requires further research and consultation with market participants.
“Assessing index eligibility across a range of these types of entities may require additional inclusion assessment criteria, such as financial-statement-based or other indicators,”
The index provider launched a wider consultation on how to classify non-operating and investment-oriented companies, after investors raised concerns that DATs resemble investment funds, which are ineligible for inclusion in MSCI equity indexes. Until that review is complete, companies whose crypto holdings represent 50% or more of their total assets will remain eligible as long as they meet standard index requirements. This category also includes Strategy, the largest corporate treasury holder of Bitcoin.
However, MSCI said it will freeze any increases in share counts or inclusion factors and defer additions or size-segment upgrades for those companies.
The proposal to exclude DATs from MSCI-tracked indexes was first introduced last October. It would have reclassified many of these firms as investment vehicles rather than operating businesses. If adopted, it would have forced the removal of crypto treasury firms like Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) during MSCI’s 2026 index review next month.
MSCI noted that investor feedback showed discomfort with a strict asset-based threshold for its indexes, with some market participants arguing that balance sheet composition alone does not capture how digital asset treasuries operate or generate value for shareholders.
Strategy (MSTR) Climbs 6% As Michael Saylor Challenges MSCI Criteria For Index Inclusion Of DATs
The decision to withdraw the exclusion plans has removed a major overhang for Michael Saylor’s firm, resulting in its common stock, MSTR, climbing about 6% in after-hours trading following a 4% drop during the daily session. This has eased concerns about forced selling from passive funds that are part of indexes tracked by MSCI. The change was also seen as a potential risk to Strategy’s future funding and stock performance, which has been volatile amid a decline in BTC price and overall instability in the crypto market.
At the time, Strategy publicly challenged MSCI’s proposal by claiming that it is run like a normal operating business. It also said that the exemption of DATs would, in turn, affect their investors and shareholders. That uncertainty matters because analysts at JPMorgan warned at the time that exclusion from MSCI USA or Nasdaq 100 indexes could trigger up to $8.8 billion in investment outflows, with Strategy alone facing potential selling pressure upwards of $2 billion.
In a public letter last month, Saylor criticized the proposed index eligibility criteria, arguing that companies with large exposures to commodities such as oil or gold are not subject to similar treatment despite facing comparable volatility. Shortly after, the company managed to retain its position within the Nasdaq 100 following its latest rebalancing.
Strategy Acquires 1,286 BTC, Bringing Total Holdings To 673,783 BTC, Valued At $62 Billion
On January 5, Strategy strengthened its Bitcoin portfolio after purchasing 1,286 BTC for approximately $116 million, increasing its total holdings to 673,783 BTC, valued at roughly $62 billion. The company also raised its cash reserves to $2.25 billion to support dividend and debt payments and ensure operational liquidity.
The bitcoins were purchased between December 29, 2025, and January 4, 2026, using proceeds from its at-the-market equity offerings – MSTR, STRK, STRF, STRD, and STRC. These products, part of a broader capital structure, enable Strategy to raise perpetual capital through public markets, allowing it to continually accumulate BTC and function as a public-equity version of a private equity continuation fund.
Strategy has achieved a BTC yield of 22.8% in 2025. Its BTC holdings were acquired for a total cost basis of $50.55 billion, at an average rate of $75,026 per coin, putting the firm on unrealized gains of nearly $12 billion.
The company’s capital plan, known as the 21/21 Plan, aims to raise $21 billion in equity and another $21 billion in fixed income instruments over the next three years to support its strategy of leveraging the alpha cryptocurrency as its primary treasury reserve asset.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $91,724 – down 1.12% in 24 hours. Strategy (MSTR) closed the January 6 trading day at $157.97 – down 4%.
