Bitcoin Treasury Companies Under Pressure: Nasdaq Delisting Risk and MSCI Controversy

MSCI Reversal After Treasury Company Controversy

Index provider MSCI Inc. has abandoned its plans to exclude Bitcoin treasury companies like MicroStrategy from its index universe after facing significant resistance ^[1]. The original consideration dating back to October 2025 was based on the assumption that these companies might resemble investment funds ^[2]. The decision to retain Strategy, Metaplanet and similar firms in stock indices like the MSCI World or MSCI ACWI for now demonstrates a shift in power dynamics in 2026, according to analysts ^[1][2].

By keeping these companies in the indices, both MSTR stock and numerous other treasury securities continue to benefit from ETF inflows ^[1]. Millions of ETF savers are already indirectly investing part of their capital in Bitcoin through indices like the MSCI World or MSCI USA ^[1].

Return Analysis: 10 Percent Bitcoin Significantly Boosts Portfolio Performance

A recent analysis shows the concrete impact of adding Bitcoin to classic stock portfolios. A pure MSCI World investment would have achieved a return of around 86.2 percent over the past five years – 100,000 euros would have grown to approximately 186,200 euros ^[1].

With an allocation of just 10 percent to Bitcoin, the picture changes significantly: With a split of 90,000 euros in the iShares MSCI World ETF and 10,000 euros in Bitcoin, the portfolio would have reached a value of around 194,000 euros today – an additional return of over 7,800 euros compared to the pure stock strategy ^[1].

The reason lies in Bitcoin's above-average performance despite the disappointing crypto year of 2025: Over five years, the cryptocurrency recorded a cumulative appreciation of 164 percent in euros, corresponding to an annualized return of approximately 21.6 percent ^[1]. The 90/10 portfolio thus achieved a total return of around 94 percent with an annualized return of 14.1 percent ^[1].

Risk Profile: Moderate Volatility Increase with Lower Correlation

While adding Bitcoin does increase portfolio volatility, it does so less dramatically than expected. While a pure MSCI World investment exhibits volatility of approximately 14.3 percent, a 10 percent Bitcoin allocation only raises this to about 15.1 percent ^[1].

The correlation between Bitcoin and the MSCI World remained predominantly in the low range between near zero and around 0.35 during the period studied, averaging approximately 0.18 ^[1]. This indicates that both asset classes frequently moved independently of each other, though this correlation was not stable ^[1].

Nasdaq Delisting Threatens Multiple Bitcoin Holders

While the portfolio analysis shows positive effects, several publicly traded Bitcoin treasury companies are struggling with existential problems. Following the boom in early summer 2025, many of these companies' stocks experienced dramatic price collapses – in some cases more than 90 percent from their peaks ^[2].

Nasdaq requires stocks to trade at a minimum of $1 USD. If the price falls below this threshold for 30 consecutive days, companies receive a warning and have 180 days to correct the situation ^[2].

Nakamoto, the Bitcoin treasury firm of former Trump advisor David Bailey, received the Nasdaq warning on December 10, 2025 ^[2]. The deadline expires on June 8, 2026 ^[2]. The stock currently trades at $0.45 USD – 98.7 percent below its all-time high ^[2]. The company holds 5,398 BTC worth more than $500 million USD with a market capitalization of only approximately $230 million USD and debts of $210 million USD ^[2].

Strive, the Bitcoin treasury firm of asset manager Strive Asset Management, is also struggling with the $1 USD threshold. The board has already authorized a reverse split at a ratio of 1 to 20 ^[2]. The stock has fallen 93 percent since its summer high and currently trades at just under $0.95 USD ^[2].

Other affected companies include K Wave Media, which received a warning on January 7, 2026 and holds only 88 Bitcoin ^[2], as well as mining hardware manufacturer Canaan with 1,750 BTC and 3,951 ETH, which was warned on January 14, 2026 ^[2].

Saylor Defends Treasury Strategy

Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor vehemently defended Bitcoin treasury companies in a podcast appearance. He argued that companies with excess capital are better advised to invest it in Bitcoin rather than in government bonds or return it to shareholders ^[3].

"If you're losing $10 million a year, but you're making $30 million in Bitcoin gains, didn't I just save the company?" Saylor said ^[3]. He criticized the double standards: "The Bitcoin community tends to eat its own children. They somehow think it's okay that 400 million companies don't buy Bitcoin, and somehow that's okay, and you're going to criticize the 200 companies that bought Bitcoin" ^[3].

Strategy is the largest publicly traded crypto holder with 687,410 BTC ^[3]. In total, publicly traded companies hold approximately 1.1 million BTC, representing around 5.5 percent of the 19.97 million coins in circulation ^[3].