Strive CEO Matt Cole critiques MSCI index framework for ignoring Bitcoin treasuries

Matt Cole, CEO of Strive, fired back at MSCI’s latest attempt to classify companies with significant digital asset holdings, arguing the index giant’s revised framework still fails to recognize Bitcoin treasury operations as legitimate business activities. Cole’s response, posted on August 14, targets MSCI’s updated consultation proposal, which aims to reassess how firms with large cryptocurrency positions are categorized within major financial indices. His core complaint: companies that actively use finance and capital markets to build Bitcoin treasuries aren’t just sitting on a pile of coins. They’re operating companies. From exclusion threat to consultation To understand why this matters, rewind to late 2025. MSCI floated a proposal that would have effectively booted companies from its indices if more than 50% of their balance sheet consisted of digital assets. The pushback from the industry was swift and loud. Firms that had deliberately structured their businesses around Bitcoin treasury strategies saw the proposal as a misunderstanding of what they actually do. Holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, raising capital through instruments like perpetual preferred equity to acqui...