Potential $15 Billion Exodus From Crypto Stock Holdings Looms as MSCI Eyes New Rule

The crypto market faces a potential $15 billion liquidity event if MSCI’s proposed digital asset treasury exclusion rule moves forward. The index provider is currently consulting with stakeholders on whether companies holding more than 50% of their assets in cryptocurrency should be barred from its flagship equity indexes—a move that could trigger significant forced selling in passive funds worldwide.

The Rule’s Mechanics and Timeline

MSCI’s proposal targets what the industry calls digital asset treasury companies—firms that raise capital through equity or debt offerings and deploy substantial portions into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. These companies have become increasingly visible on major indices as institutional adoption accelerates. The rule would effectively exclude them from MSCI’s core benchmarks if approved.

The stakes are concrete: MSCI plans to reveal its final position by January 15, 2026, with implementation scheduled during the February 2026 index review cycle. When companies are removed from MSCI indexes, passive funds tracking those benchmarks are forced to liquidate positions regardless of market conditions, creating predetermined selling pressure.

Corporate Bitcoin Accumulation Accelerates

The backdrop to this debate reveals surging institutional interest in Bitcoin. According to Glassnode, corporate Bitcoin treasuries have grown dramatically—rising from 197K BTC to 1.08M BTC since January 2023, representing a 448% increase. With Bitcoin currently trading around $92.11K, this accumulated corporate exposure has become a material component of institutional balance sheets.

This corporate demand has proven resilient even as Bitcoin remains range-bound below the $90K level, suggesting deepening institutional conviction.

$10-$15B Outflow Projection

Opposition group BitcoinForCorporations has quantified the potential impact. After analyzing 39 affected companies with a combined float-adjusted market value of approximately $113 billion, analysts estimate forced liquidations could reach $10-15 billion. Their calculations suggest roughly $11.6 billion in outflows under the proposed framework.

The distribution is highly concentrated: one company alone—Strategy—accounts for roughly 74.5% of the impacted market value and faces approximately $2.8 billion in MSCI-linked fund selling if excluded. Strategy had previously faced removal risks but recently survived the Nasdaq 100 reshuffle, only to remain under scrutiny from other index providers.

Industry Mobilizes in Opposition

Strategy has formally contested MSCI’s proposal, arguing it unfairly targets a single asset class while ignoring actual business operations, revenue generation, and customer engagement. The company’s argument reflects a broader industry perspective: judging firms by a single balance sheet metric oversimplifies their value proposition.

BitcoinForCorporations has gathered over 1,200 signatures on a petition urging MSCI to abandon the exclusion framework, signaling coordinated institutional resistance to the policy shift.

Market Implications

The outcome could significantly impact passive fund flows into crypto-exposed equities. If the rule takes effect as proposed, the mechanical selling would likely create downward pressure on affected stocks independent of fundamentals, while potentially driving up relative valuations for non-cryptocurrency-heavy competitors in overlapping sectors.