Strategy gains 6% as MSCI decides against excluding DATs from indexes

Strategy Shares Rise After MSCI Keeps Digital Asset Treasury Firms in Indexes

Shares of Strategy (MSTR) gained 6% in after-hours trading Tuesday after MSCI said it will maintain the inclusion of digital asset treasury companies (DATs) in its indexes, lifting a key overhang on the stock.

The Michael Saylor-led firm had faced pressure from falling bitcoin prices and uncertainty over whether the index provider would exclude companies with large digital asset holdings from its benchmarks.

In a statement, MSCI said it needs additional research and consultation before drawing distinctions between investment firms and operating companies that hold non-operating assets, such as digital assets, as part of their core business. The firm added that assessing index eligibility for such entities may require new criteria, including financial-statement-based or other indicators.

“For now, the current index treatment of DATCOs identified in the preliminary list published by MSCI will remain unchanged,” the firm said, referring to companies whose digital asset holdings make up at least half of total assets.

The decision was closely watched across the market, as removal from major indexes could have resulted in billions of dollars of lost passive inflows for Strategy and other firms pursuing similar treasury strategies.

With the risk of exclusion removed, capital may begin flowing back into the sector, improving sentiment. Other DATs, including Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), Sharplink (SBET), and Twenty One Capital (XXI), also posted modest gains in after-hours trading.

Bitcoin, which had been under pressure earlier in the session, rose about 1% following the announcement and was trading near $93,500.