Formally, we are talking about "non-operating companies." The check is a basic screen plus a test of five ratios: a stock is flagged as unsuitable if it fails four or more. The 2025 temporary relief that shielded companies with a digital asset share above 50% is expiring.
Key dates: on November 11, MSCI publishes the list of affected companies; on November 30, the rule takes effect.
Why this matters to a trader: index funds don't choose what to hold - they are obligated to replicate the index composition. As soon as a stock is dropped, funds are forced to sell it, regardless of price or financials. For Strategy and Metaplanet, this means a forced supply of shares on the market and pressure on their premium to the value of their Bitcoin.
Both companies are behaving demonstratively. Strategy (Michael Saylor's company, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin) continues buying: a fresh BTC purchase of $21.5 million and a buyback of its own shares for $192 million. Japan's Metaplanet sold 10,000 BTC and immediately bought back 11,000 - to show that its balance sheet is actively managed rather than sitting idle.
Saylor himself called the rule discriminatory. Bottom line for the market: until the end of November, crypto-treasury stocks become a separate story with a known event date in advance - and their moves right now are far more nervous than BTC itself.
Do you watch such dates from the sidelines?
An event with an exact date on the calendar is a rare gift: November 11 and 30 are known in advance, and you can prepare calmly. What's a shame is something else: when the whole calculation is right, but the position is such that a 5% move brings in the cost of dinner. prop trading solves exactly the question of notional size: you pass the challenge and get to trade the company's account, instead of saving up a deposit for years. It makes more sense to figure out the scheme before November, not after.