MSCI has launched a formal public consultation to classify corporate balance sheets holding heavy crypto and alternative assets as non-operating, a policy shift that could remove two Bitcoin treasury companies and U.K. uranium investor Yellow Cake from its flagship Global Investable Market Indexes as early as November 2026, according to a proposal released in August 2026.
Index Changes Target Crypto Treasuries
The proposed methodology by MSCI is specifically designed to eliminate the debate surrounding alternative asset holders that avoided previous exclusion attempts. According to reporting by TechTimes and CoinAlertNews, the consultation introduces an asset-class-neutral framework that evaluates corporate balance sheets and cash flows rather than targeting specific asset classes.
If adopted for the November 2026 index review, the simulation based on May 2026 data would remove three specific entities from the MSCI ACWI IMI simulation: a company with a free float-adjusted market capitalization of $23.93 billion; London-listed uranium investor Yellow Cake PLC at $1.81 billion; and Tokyo-listed Metaplanet at $654 million. Three additional firms—Center Laboratories of Taiwan, Lydia Holding of Turkey, and SharpLink of the United States—would enter a public watchlist, facing deletion only upon failing the screen for a second consecutive year.
How the Two-Step MSCI Screen Works
The proposed MSCI framework runs corporate issuers through two sequential evaluations. According to TechTimes, the first test asks whether operating assets account for more than 50% of a company’s total assets. Companies clearing this threshold remain eligible for index inclusion without further examination.
Issuers falling below the 50% threshold face a granular second test examining five distinct financial ratios:
- Operating asset intensity: Flags companies where operating assets drop below 20% of total assets, or below 10% for existing index constituents.
- Expense intensity: Flags firms with operating expenses below 5% of total assets, capturing businesses generating minimal cash flow from active operations.
- Cash flow: Flags companies reporting negative operating cash flow.
- Fair value intensity: Flags firms where non-operating fair value changes exceed 5% of total assets and represent more than 50% of combined net sales and fair value changes.
- Capital dependence: Flags businesses where financing cash flows exceed 20% of total assets, identifying reliance on external capital rather than operational revenue for growth.
A company receives a non-operating designation only if it triggers at least four of these five ratio flags. According to available financial analyses, a company fails all five screens based on its FY2025 annual filing, while another faces identical scrutiny.
Financial Stakes and Corporate Holdings
The proposed index alterations carry substantial market implications due to passive funds tracking the affected benchmarks. CoinAlertNews noted that JPMorgan previously estimated a company could face approximately $2.8 billion in passive selling under an earlier, separate exclusion proposal—though analysts emphasize that figure applies to past frameworks and does not serve as a forecast for the current methodology.
Corporate filings highlight the immense scale of asset accumulation driving the consultation. According to corporate trackers cited by CoinAlertNews, a company held 840,447 BTC as of August 9, 2026, while another reports holding 43,000 BTC. Meanwhile, SharpLink reported holding 888,938 ETH and Ethereum equivalents as of August 3, 2026.
A company reported ¥3.331 billion in H1 2026 operating profit (approximately $20.9 million USD), even as declining Bitcoin prices during the period generated a ¥182.774 billion (approximately $1.15 billion USD) net accounting loss, illustrating the unique income statement profile that prompted MSCI’s review.
Consultation Timeline and Next Steps
The public consultation remains open through September 30, 2026, with MSCI scheduled to announce final results by October 16, 2026. If adopted, the changes will take effect during the November 2026 index review. MSCI has emphasized that the consultation may or may not result in the proposed index methodology modifications.