Crypto: the S&P 500 incorporates Robinhood, but spreads Strategy

The latest revision of the S&P 500 is more than redistributing the cards. If the entry of Robinhood, a symbol of accessible finance, was hailed, the discretionary exclusion of Strategy, yet in accordance with all the technical criteria, surprises. Behind this choice, a disturbing reality emerges: some companies exposed to bitcoin always seem persona non grata in the big clues. This decision questions the impartiality of the committee and the real place granted to the crypto ecosystem.

A discretionary exclusion, despite compliance with the criteria

As part of its quarterly revision announced on September 3, the S&P Dow Jones Indices revealed that the Robinhood company would integrate the S&P 500 index after a refusal a few weeks ago, while Strategy, a company strongly exposed to Bitcoin, would not be retained, although it meets all the eligibility criteria.

Strategy fully met the minimum requirements for market capitalization, liquidity and profitability. However, the committee invoked its discretionary prerogative to dismiss it, without providing public justification. This power, although provided for in the rules, questions when applied to a company deemed technically consistent.

More specifically, Strategy filled according to Available data ::

• Sufficient market capitalization with regard to the thresholds defined by the S&P 500;
• Adequate liquidity, measured by the average daily volume of exchanges;
• Proven profitability, an essential condition for appearing in the index;
• And domiciliation in the United States, a required geographical criterion.

Despite this compliant table, the Committee decided not to include Strategy, which was interpreted by certain analysts as a form of implicit exclusion from companies exposed directly to Bitcoin.

The lack of official explanation leaves the door open to speculation, in particular on a possible anti-Crypto bias in the selection mechanisms. This decision thus challenges the neutrality of the integration process within the S&P 500.

Robinhood admitted: a consumer public platform

Unlike Strategy, Robinhood was admitted to the S&P 500, a decision which, although greeted by the Crypto market, also triggers its share of questions.

The trading platform, known for having popularized stock market investments with a young audience, also has a partial exhibition at the crypto, since it offers the purchase and sale of several assets.

However, this exhibition remains marginal compared to its heart of activity, focused on the brokerage of traditional and ETF actions. The S&P 500 committee therefore seems to have considered this tolerable crypto proximity, because it is integrated into a more conventional model and in accordance with the standards of classical finance.

It is not enough to be profitable and liquid to enter the S&P 500, it is still necessary that its economic model is aligned with the expectations of institutional finance. Robinhood benefits from an image “General public”well installed in the American stock market ecosystem.

It does not represent a threat to the established order, unlike Strategy, whose link with Bitcoin which nevertheless crushed the S&P 500, directly echoes a logic of radical disintermediation. In other words, Crypto companies can be accepted, provided that they are wisely integrated into existing structures.