MSCI plans to exclude companies with high crypto holdings, which may trigger a $15 billion sell-off

The index provider MSCI has proposed to exclude companies with 50% or more of their total assets in digital assets from its global investable market index, with a final decision to be made on January 15, 2026, and changes potentially taking effect in February.

Analysts expect this move could force 39 listed companies to sell off $10 to $15 billion in crypto assets to maintain eligibility. These companies have a total market capitalization of approximately $113 billion, with Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) accounting for 74.5% of the affected value.

JPMorgan estimates that Strategy alone could face $2.8 billion in outflows from MSCI-related funds. To avoid being excluded, some companies may proactively liquidate crypto holdings to below 50%, triggering market sell-offs and increased volatility in Bitcoin. Over 1,268 people have already signed a petition against the proposal, criticizing it for unfairly targeting digital assets.