MSCI’s proposal to exclude companies that hold more than 50% of their assets in cryptocurrency is comparable to removing global energy giants like Chevron for holding oil, according to Strategy CEO Phong Le.
In October, MSCI announced a consultation with the investment community on whether to drop Bitcoin and other digital asset treasury (DAT) companies from its indexes if the majority of their balance sheets consist of crypto.
Speaking Wednesday on the Schwab Network, a streaming market-analysis channel, Le said that while he has “a lot of respect for the indexes,” MSCI’s approach is “misinformed and misguided.”
He added that companies such as Chevron—whose assets are majority oil—timberland firm Weyerhaeuser, which holds a large portion of its assets in wood, and Simon Property Group, which owns substantial real estate, are not facing similar exclusion.
“It seems very early to pick winners and choosers and stifle innovation in a category like this,” Le said.
“This would be like in the 1980s, saying the telecom company shouldn’t have built out cell towers and spectrum, or three years ago, saying AI companies shouldn’t be investing in LL labs and high-performance compute.”
MSCI’s stance is a mischaracterization, says Strategy CEO
Le argued that other elements of MSCI’s proposal—including its suggestion that Strategy and similar digital asset companies should be classified as investment funds rather than operating companies—are also misguided.
MSCI noted that some respondents to its consultation believe digital asset treasury (DAT) firms can “exhibit characteristics similar to investment funds, which are currently not eligible for index inclusion.” Le rejected that view, emphasizing the company’s long-standing operating history.
“I’ve been CFO since 2015, Michael Saylor founded the company in 1989, we’ve been public since 1998, I work here day to day, and we are 100% an operating company—legally and structurally,” he said.
Strategy letter says MSCI proposal isn’t neutral
Le’s remarks coincided with Strategy’s formal letter to MSCI, which argues the proposal would introduce a bias against crypto as an asset class rather than maintain the neutrality expected of a major index provider.
MSCI’s consultation runs through Dec. 31, with conclusions set for release on Jan. 15 and any resulting changes taking effect in February.
Last month, Charlie Sherry, head of finance at Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, told Cointelegraph that MSCI typically only puts forward changes of this nature when it is already inclined to adopt them.
