Strive, the 14th largest Bitcoin treasury firm listed on Nasdaq, has called on MSCI to rethink its proposal to exclude significant Bitcoin-holding companies from its indexes.
In a letter addressed to MSCI Chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez, Strive emphasized that excluding firms with digital asset holdings exceeding 50% of total assets would diminish passive investors’ access to growth sectors and fail to accurately represent the companies MSCI aims to include.
Exclusion from MSCI indexes could seriously impact digital asset treasury firms. JPMorgan analysts had previously cautioned that Strategy, a Bitcoin treasury firm included in the MSCI World Index, could face a $2.8 billion loss if MSCI goes forward with the proposal.
Michael Saylor, chair of Strategy, confirmed that the company is in discussions with the index provider about this issue.
Large Bitcoin holders are leading in AI: Strive CEO
Strive CEO Matt Cole pointed out that major Bitcoin miners, including MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8—potential candidates for exclusion—are swiftly adapting their data centers to supply power and infrastructure for AI computing.
“Many analysts believe that the AI race will increasingly be limited by access to power rather than semiconductors. Bitcoin miners are uniquely positioned to fulfill this growing demand,” he stated.
“However, even as AI revenues increase, their Bitcoin holdings will remain, and your exclusion would limit client engagement in the fastest-growing segment of the global economy.”
Growth of Bitcoin structured finance
Excluding these firms would also sever companies like Strategy and Metaplanet, which offer investors structured notes linked to Bitcoin returns, similar to offerings from JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, Cole argued.
“Bitcoin structured finance is as legitimate a business for us as it is for JPMorgan. Like other Bitcoin companies, we’re transparent about our intent to develop this as our core focus. Competing against traditional financiers, burdened by higher capital costs from passive index exclusions on the very Bitcoin that enables our products, would be unfair.”
A 50% Bitcoin threshold is impractical
Cole indicated that the proposal is likely unfeasible in practice, as tying index inclusion to a volatile asset would cause companies to “flicker” in and out of the index, resulting in increased management costs and tracking errors.
Furthermore, there are challenges in determining when digital asset holdings exceed 50%, as companies expand exposure to digital assets via various instruments.
Related: Strategy’s Michael Saylor on potential MSCI exclusion: ‘We’re engaging’
“This question is not merely theoretical. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which holds the tenth-largest public Bitcoin treasury, did not make your preliminary exclusion list because its Bitcoin holdings were just below 50% of total assets,” Cole stated.
“Yet Trump Media is not excluded simply because it is the first significant treasury aiming for substantial digital asset exposure through derivatives and ETFs.”
Rather than a sweeping exclusion, Strive has advocated for MSCI to consider developing an “ex-digital asset treasury” version of its current indexes.
“Asset owners wishing to bypass these companies could select those benchmarks, while others could continue to utilize the standard indices that most effectively represent the entire investable equity universe.”
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