Shares of billionaire Michael Saylor’s Strategy rose Wednesday after MSCI shelved plans to exclude the bitcoin-focused firm and other crypto treasury companies, often called DATCOs, from its indexes.
Summary
- MSCI shelved plans to remove bitcoin-focused treasury companies (DATCOs) from its indexes, removing a near-term technical risk for crypto-linked equities.
- Firms holding bitcoin, ether, and other tokens as treasury assets gained popularity in 2025, offering investors proxy exposure, though volatility and unsettled accounting treatment remain concerns.
- Strategy led gains with a 3.2% rise in morning trading, though earlier profits were trimmed amid a fall in bitcoin, highlighting sensitivity of crypto-linked stocks.
The company, previously known as MicroStrategy, defines a Digital Asset Treasury Company, or DATCO, as a firm whose digital asset holdings, such as Bitcoin, represent 50% or more of total assets on its balance sheet.
The classification surged in popularity in 2025 as more public companies began incorporating Bitcoin, Ether, and other tokens into their treasury strategies, offering investors proxy exposure to crypto.
Despite their appeal, the tokens remain volatile, and shares have reflected sharp swings. Accounting treatment is also unsettled, with analysts debating whether these firms should be valued as holding vehicles or based on their underlying businesses.
The MSCI decision doesn’t settle longer-term questions around index eligibility, according to Owen Lau, analyst at Clear Street, but it removes a near-term technical risk for public equities tied to crypto. Clear Street expects MSCI may grandfather existing DATCOs already in its indexes.
MSCI had proposed removing DATCOs from its global benchmarks in the fall, citing their similarity to investment funds, which are excluded from indexes. Many firms argued they are operating companies developing new products and that the proposals unfairly singled out crypto.
Strategy led the crypto treasury trend after buying Bitcoin in 2020. Shares rose as much as 3.2% in morning trading before trimming gains amid a fall in Bitcoin to $90,900, underscoring the continuing sensitivity of crypto-linked equities.
The stock is currently up over 4.5% year-to-date.
