Strategy stock soars as MSCI pauses plan to drop digital asset treasury firms

Key Takeaways

• Strategy, previously MicroStrategy, saw a post-market stock increase.
• MSCI decided not to remove digital asset treasury firms from its indexes.

Shares of Strategy (MSTR) rose over 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after MSCI said it would not proceed with a proposal to remove digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs) from its benchmark indexes in the February 2026 review.

MSTR fell about 4% on Tuesday to close near $158, leaving the stock roughly 67% below its July 2025 peak of $434, per Yahoo Finance. The stock is up about 4% so far this year.

The decision allows Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, to remain in MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes alongside other firms that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

While MSCI maintains the current treatment of DATCOs for now, there is ongoing uncertainty over whether these firms will continue to qualify for index inclusion in the future.

The index provider plans to launch a wider consultation on how to classify non-operating and investment-oriented companies, after investors warned that some resemble investment funds, which are ineligible for MSCI equity indexes.

While MSCI is maintaining the current treatment of digital-asset treasury companies for now, its upcoming consultation on non-operating entities means there is still no long-term assurance of index inclusion for MicroStrategy.

Until that review is complete, DATCOs identified as holding digital assets equal to at least 50% of total assets will remain in the indexes if eligible, though MSCI will freeze any increases in share counts or inclusion factors and defer additions or size-segment upgrades.

The proposal to exclude DATCOs was introduced last October, raising concerns it could trigger up to $8.8 billion in investment outflows.

The change was also seen as a potential risk to Strategy’s future funding and stock performance, which has been volatile amid Bitcoin’s decline and market instability.

In response, Strategy urged MSCI’s Equity Index Committee to rethink the proposal, arguing it unfairly treats operational digital asset treasury companies as investment funds and risks market disruption while conflicting with US digital finance policy.