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Crypto professionals challenge the MSCI’s possible move to exclude Bitcoin-heavy digital asset treasuries from its indexes as major firms warn that investors may lose access to a valued market niche. The MSCI is considering removing DATs holding more than 50% of their assets in Bitcoin or other crypto after claiming such firms resemble investment funds more than operating companies. The agency will decide early next year, yet industry leaders already voice concerns.
Major voices in the sector question the proposal. Michael Saylor of Strategy and Vivek Ramaswamy of Strive Asset Management object to the threshold, and they argue it cuts out key participants. The MSCI revealed the idea in October, and it notes the review remains ongoing. Industry executives say the plan impacts companies that anchor a growing part of the digital-asset economy.
Adam Levine, CEO of Fireblocks Trust Company, says institutional investors warmed to crypto in recent years. He adds that index-tracking firms may need to rebalance if MSCI removes DATs. He also warns that exclusion creates a risk of overlooking firms that develop tokenized equity and stablecoin products at scale.
Levine compares the proposal to excluding early internet companies in the 1990s while they built future industries. He says meaningful digital-asset activity should remain visible to investors. Yet he notes that institutional participants will still monitor the space closely despite potential index reshuffling.
Market analysts expect the effects to ripple across DATs that rely on index visibility. Spencer Hallarn, head of OTC trading at GSR, states that index provider decisions shape long-term liquidity conditions. He adds that exclusion decisions affect the firms themselves and the crypto they hold.
Hallarn also believes the rumored exclusion has circulated long enough for markets to factor it into pricing. He notes that the industry anticipated the review, so investors may not react sharply when MSCI publishes its decision. This raises a pivotal question: Will the final index decision reshape the behavior of institutional investors tracking digital-asset exposure?
The Business Insider reports that the possibility of exclusion already appears reflected in market expectations. Analysts explain that DATs have been prepared for the shift in recent months. Despite these concerns, several executives maintain confidence in Bitcoin’s longer-term prospects.
Wojciech Kaszycki, chief strategy officer at BTCS S.A., says Bitcoin could recover from its bear market. He predicts a rebound and notes that long-term fundamentals remain intact. He also states that the MSCI decision will not change the trajectory of firms that continue operating core blockchain infrastructure.
Strive Asset Management adds further arguments. Strive CEO Matt Cole says the proposal misinterprets the role of Bitcoin-heavy firms in emerging industries, including artificial intelligence. He explains that Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, and Hut 8 expand into AI through high-intensity compute operations.
Cole adds that these companies also maintain significant Bitcoin reserves while diversifying revenue streams. He states that excluding them would isolate a segment of the crypto industry that sits at the intersection of next-generation computing and digital assets. He warns that such isolation places fast-growing sectors on separate tracks.
Strive also questions the practicality of MSCI’s 50% cutoff. Cole references Trump Media & Technology Group, which avoided exclusion because its Bitcoin exposure currently falls below that threshold. He states that the line remains arbitrary and creates potential inconsistencies across firms with similar profiles.
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The debate over MSCI’s plan to exclude Bitcoin-heavy DATs continues to intensify as industry leaders caution that the move may disrupt institutional portfolios and overlook firms shaping digital-asset innovation. The final decision will determine whether key market players remain visible in global indexes. Stakeholders should monitor the upcoming announcement closely.
