Bitcoin: Strategy escapes the ax during the first sorting of the Nasdaq 100

There are companies that join an index like you join a club. And others who enter it like starting an awkward discussion at the table. Strategy clearly belongs to the second category: a listed company, formerly MicroStrategy, which has become above all a machine for accumulating bitcoin. However, during the annual reconstitution of the Nasdaq 100 announced on December 13, 2025, it did not jump. First real test taken since his arrival last December.

A clue that cuts, Strategy that remains

Trading volumes stall while the market stalls. In this context, the Nasdaq 100 has moved, and not timidly: six exits (Biogen, CDW, GlobalFoundries, Lululemon, ON Semiconductor, Trade Desk) and six entries (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Ferrovial, Insmed, Monolithic Power Systems, Seagate, Western Digital), with changes effective on December 22, 2025.

In this little game, Strategy appears like a UFO. Tech at the origin, “bitcoin treasury” at heart since 2020, the company sometimes looks more like a market vehicle than a classic operating company. This is precisely what makes its maintenance notable: the index has not “sanctioned” its model, at least for this rebalancing.

And yet, the market did not applaud. The stock ended the session down (-3.74% according to the figures relayed), and the action has been on a slippery slope over the last month. Staying in the index is not enough to calm your nerves when bitcoin is breathing harder than your historical business.

A head-turning bitcoin treasure…and the rules

The heart of the matter is the size of the trunk. Strategy is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin today, and continues to pile on. Latest example: 10,624 BTC purchased for around $962.7 million in early December, bringing the total to 660,624 BTC, valued at around 60 billion according to market estimates.

At this level, the business almost becomes an equation: “value = bitcoin + premium (or discount) + financing structure”. This is where the question arises: are we still talking about an operating company, or a listed quasi-fund which has a software veneer?

This is exactly the debate that is taking place at MSCI. The index provider is examining the possibility of excluding from indices companies whose crypto assets exceed 50% of the total, and a decision is expected in January (with a date mentioned around January 15, 2026 in some coverage). If MSCI decides, the impact would not be theoretical: JPMorgan has pointed out a risk of forced sales of up to $2.8 billion via passive funds.

The Saylor response: “we don’t pile on, we finance”

Faced with MSCI, Strategy favors the structure argument rather than that of conviction. In a letter dated December 10, Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le defend the idea of ​​a company that issues different instruments, including preferred shares, to finance its purchases. According to them, this is a logic of financial exploitation, and not a simple passive accumulation of bitcoin.

At the same time, Strategy raised around $1.44 billion, precisely to put an end to doubts about its ability to service dividends and debts if the stock continued to fall. The mechanics summarize: when fear sets in, some position themselves in “short bitcoin” by ricochet.

And communication goes further than technical defense. In Abu Dhabi, during Bitcoin MENA, Saylor spoke about “digital capital” and “digital gold”, adding a more ambitious idea: building a form of “digital credit” on top of bitcoin to produce returns, while attracting sovereign funds, banks and family offices. This is the final bet: to accept that Strategy is not a market accident, but an assumed bridge between traditional indices and cash in BTC.