Strategy CEO Phong Le used the company's August 17 investor Q&A session to directly confront MSCI's proposal to exclude Bitcoin treasury companies from its stock indexes, telling investors he considers the plan "ill-advised" and arguing that Bitcoin functions as an operating asset for the company rather than a passive holding that should disqualify it from index inclusion.
Le's comments came alongside Executive Chairman Michael Saylor during the livestreamed session, where the two sought to reassure shareholders that even a worst-case exclusion would leave the company's fundamentals largely intact.
What MSCI Is Actually Proposing
MSCI's consultation, opened in early August, would apply a two-step screen to companies in its Global Investable Market Indexes: first checking whether operating assets exceed 50% of total assets, then applying five financial ratios covering operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value intensity and capital dependence. A company failing at least four of those ratios in two consecutive annual reviews would become ineligible. MSCI's own simulation identified Strategy, London-listed Yellow Cake and Tokyo-listed Metaplanet as the firms that would currently fail the proposed screens, with Strategy standing out as the only large-cap name on that list.
Related: Bitcoin's 8.7% Surge to $69,749 Sends $1.44B in Shorts Into Liquidation
Le's Case for Staying In
Le told investors that MSCI indices represent roughly 3% to 4% of Strategy's current shares outstanding, and that a full exclusion would create only gradual selling pressure rather than a sudden shock. Public feedback on MSCI's proposal closes September 30, with results expected by October 16 and any adopted change taking effect at the November 2026 index review — leaving Strategy roughly three months to make its case before the matter is settled.
A Shareholder Presses on Losses
Not every question at the session was about index mechanics. One shareholder told Le he had invested $73,000 in MSTR for each of his three children, and that each of those positions is now worth only about $20,000 — a decline of more than 70%. The exchange underscored the volatility Strategy's stock has carried alongside Bitcoin's own price swings, even as the company continues to frame its all-in Bitcoin treasury strategy as a long-term bet rather than a short-term trade.
