Why Michael Saylor ‘won’t back down’ as $8B in MSTR faces risk

Key Takeaways 

Where will the $8B pressure come from? 

From funds with MSTR positions via the MSCI, and if other indexes follow through. 

What’s Saylor’s response? 

He said that Strategy is an operating company with $500 million software business and active capital raising expansion plans. 

Michael Saylor’s Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) could remain muted until MSCI’s review report in mid-January 2026. 

According to investment bank and brokerage firm TD Cowen, MSTR stock could face about $8 billion in selling pressure if MSCI were to remove it from the index. In a report, the firm said, 

“We believe ~$2.5 billion of value is attributable to MSTR holdings within MSCI indexes, with another ~$5.5 billion in other indexes that could in theory follow MSCI’s lead.”

The MSCI review, which became public last week, was first shared internally on the 10th of October. 

According to the global index, public Bitcoin treasury firms, such as Strategy, are passive and act like investment funds; therefore, they shouldn’t be listed. Only operating companies are included in the index.

But TD Cowen argued that Strategy was an operating company with $500 million software business, despite accounting for a small portion of the firm’s total value. The firm added, 

“Strategy is clearly not an investment fund. We thus wonder if perhaps MSCI isn’t simply expressing a bias against Bitcoin.”

Saylor’s response to MSCI

Last week, Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, also discredited planned index exclusion, and added,  

“Strategy is not a fund, not a trust, and not a holding company. Funds and trusts passively hold assets. No passive vehicle or holding company could do what we’re doing.”

He quipped that the ‘index classification doesn’t define’ Strategy and reiterated their long-term conviction in BTC. 

In separate social media posts, Saylor added that he won’t “back down,” highlighting that they have raised $21 billion in 2025 alone. 

Source: X

It seemed like a subtle jibe at being labeled a “passive firm.” Passive firms rarely raise capital because they lack operations that demand expansion.

Raising $21 billion meant that, by definition, Strategy is an operating firm that meets the listing requirements of the MSCI index. 

It remains to be seen whether MSCI will back down or proceed with the MSTR delisting early next year. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin [BTC] held above $80K and even attempted to reclaim $90K on the 24th of November. MSTR followed through and bounced 5% to $179.