Whale in the Harbor! MicroStrategy First Included in MSCI Global Standard Index, Saylor: US $27 Trillion Retirement Funds “Need Bitcoin”

Bitcoin whale and US-listed company MicroStrategy has been included in the MSCI Global Standard Index for the first time. CEO Michael Saylor signaled that the thousands of retirement funds in the US, managing $27 trillion in assets, need Bitcoin.

MSCI, formerly known as Morgan Stanley Capital International, is the world’s first index company and has since been renamed MSCI Inc. It is one of the renowned international index companies, alongside FTSE Group and S&P 500.

As a global securities index publisher, MSCI conducts a quarterly review of global stock markets to ensure its indices reflect changes in the overall stock market. The latest semi-annual adjustment announced by MSCI adds 42 securities and removes 121 securities from the MSCI ACWI Index, effective May 31.

The three companies with the largest market capitalizations newly added to the Global Standard Index include the Bitcoin whale MicroStrategy, data storage company Pure Storage, and electromechanical construction company Emcor Group.

Notably, the MSCI index is an important benchmark for global investors to track stock market performance in various countries and is also the target index for many index funds and derivative financial products. Currently, the value of targets related to the MSCI index exceeds $15 trillion, with more than 1,370 ETFs tracking indices compiled by MSCI.

MSCI conducts adjustments to the weights and constituents of its indices in February, May, August, and November each year, with the adjustments in February and August being quarterly and those in May and November being semi-annual, typically involving larger changes. MSCI announces the latest review results and effective dates in advance on its official website, and significant adjustments to the constituents occur on the effective date.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas pointed out in a tweet that this adjustment is significant because the value of the targets related to the Global Standard Index exceeds $4 trillion and is highly favored by institutional investors.

With Bitcoin breaking new highs this year, MicroStrategy's stock price has soared more than 87% year-to-date, outperforming Bitcoin's gain of 47%.

As MicroStrategy is included in the Global Standard Index, Saylor tweeted: “There are thousands of retirement funds in the US, managing about $27 trillion in assets, and they all need some Bitcoin.”