Strategy Rallies After MSCI Decides Against Removing DATs From Indexes

Shares of Strategy (MSTR) climbed 6% in after-hours trading Tuesday after MSCI said it will not exclude digital asset treasury companies (DATs) from its indexes, removing a major source of uncertainty for the stock.

The Michael Saylor-led firm had been under pressure amid weak bitcoin prices and concerns that MSCI might reclassify companies whose balance sheets are heavily concentrated in digital assets.

In a statement, MSCI said more work is needed to distinguish between investment companies and operating businesses that hold non-operating assets, such as digital assets, as part of their core activities. The index provider added that evaluating eligibility across such firms may require additional criteria, including financial-statement-based or other indicators.

“For the time being, 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 account for 50% or more of total assets.

The decision was closely watched by the market, as exclusion from major indexes could have cut off billions of dollars in passive investment flows—not only for Strategy, but also for companies adopting similar digital asset treasury models.

With the overhang removed, capital may begin returning to the sector, supporting sentiment. Other DATs, including Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), Sharplink (SBET), and Twenty One Capital (XXI), also posted modest after-hours gains.

Bitcoin, which had traded lower earlier in the session, rose about 1% following the announcement and was last trading near $93,500.