Bitcoin business initiative requires reversal of fifty% or extra threshold for digital belongings in index classification

NASHVILLE, TN — December 8, 2025 — Bitcoin For Firms (BFC), along side its member corporations and different affected public authorities, right now introduced the business’s formal problem to MSCI’s proposed 50%+ digital asset exclusion beneath the Digital Asset Treasury Firm (DAT) session.

Underneath the proposal, MSCI would exclude sure publicly traded corporations from the MSCI International Investable Market Index (GIMI) if digital belongings symbolize 50% or extra of their whole belongings and their major enterprise is characterised as digital asset financing actions. The BFC and its member corporations are calling on MSCI to withdraw the proposed thresholds and as a substitute work on a impartial operational-based classification framework.

“MSCI has lengthy outlined corporations by what they do, not what they personal, and this proposal abandons that precept for a single asset class.

Our member corporations function actual companies, with workers, prospects and income. A Treasury Division choice permitted by shareholders mustn’t overturn that actuality. ” – George Mehail, Managing Director, Bitcoin For Firms.

The BFC-led initiative will convey collectively public firm executives, company finance chiefs, and shareholders of corporations instantly affected by the proposal. Many of those corporations function revenue-generating companies whereas holding Bitcoin as a part of their long-term monetary methods.

Three structural flaws within the proposal

In a proper submission to MSCI’s Index Coverage Committee, BFC and its member corporations recognized three core structural flaws that considerably distort firm classification and index development.

1. Redefining “foremost enterprise” separate from operations An extended-standing classification observe is that an organization’s principal enterprise is outlined by its operations, that’s, its income and profit-generating actions. MSCI’s proposal departs from this precedent by permitting a single steadiness sheet merchandise to override administration actuality.

This permits the market worth of digital belongings to interchange workers, merchandise, prospects, and income because the defining elements of an organization’s enterprise. Because of this, an working firm could also be recharacterized as a fund-like entity solely by its monetary construction, despite the fact that there isn’t any change within the underlying enterprise mannequin.

2. Selectively single out one asset class

This proposal applies solely to digital belongings. Firms that maintain greater than 50% of their belongings in money, actual property, merchandise, shares, and even goodwill don’t face equal reclassification danger.

This proposal creates an explicitly non-neutral benchmark by making use of distinctive exclusion guidelines to a single asset class. This introduces a structural bias into index development by treating one monetary asset as basically ineligible whereas permitting all others.

3. Creating unpredictable and unstable index configurations The 50% or greater threshold is tied to the market value of a risky asset, making index membership unstable by design. An organization can cross the boundary of inclusion or exclusion solely by Bitcoin value fluctuations, with out operational adjustments, capital restructuring, or adjustments in enterprise technique.

This forces index-tracking fund gross sales to extend, will increase implementation prices, introduces pointless buying and selling exercise, and diminishes the index’s function as a secure market benchmark. Public corporations are additionally topic to mechanical inclusion and exclusion occasions that don’t have anything to do with efficiency.

Direct influence on public corporations

Taken collectively, these structural points have critical downstream results on listed corporations.

• Synthetic reclassification danger unrelated to enterprise operations
• Passive outflows attributable to index rule mechanics relatively than fundamentals
• Increased price of capital resulting from benchmark exclusion Elevated volatility pushed by exterior value indicators relatively than working outcomes
• Structural penalties imposed on shareholder-approved monetary methods

The BFC and its member corporations argue that authorized standing and regulatory remedy, relatively than steadiness sheet asset composition, ought to stay the dividing line between working corporations and funding funds.

If MSCI intends to vary the way it defines “principal enterprise,” such a framework must be utilized persistently throughout all asset lessons, relatively than singling out digital belongings as ineligible on their very own, the coalition argues.

Formal request to MSCI

Bitcoin For Firms and its affected member corporations formally request that MSCI:

• Withdraw the proposed exemption for greater than 50% of digital belongings
• Keep operationally based mostly definitions of key companies
• Sustaining asset class neutrality in index development
• Collaborate with public issuers and market contributors on classification frameworks tailor-made to multi-factor companies

Establishments and particular person buyers can view the total place letter and add their signatures at http://msci.bitcoinforcorporations.com/.

About Bitcoin For firms

Bitcoin For Firms is an government schooling and advisory community centered on serving to private and non-private corporations perceive, consider, and implement Bitcoin monetary methods. The group gives analysis, instruments and collaboration with colleagues to help accountable company capital methods.