The market this morning

MSCI finalizes rule that could remove single-asset "non-operating" firms from its indexes, putting bitcoin treasury giant Strategy in line for exclusion

By Crypto Info News

Good morning. MSCI has finalized rules that will classify "non-operating companies" as ineligible for its indexes starting Nov. 30, targeting firms whose balance sheets are dominated by a single asset, Decrypt reported. The outlet reported that bitcoin treasury giant Strategy faces removal under the finalized rules.

The decision landed amid a run of news about companies that hold crypto on their balance sheets. The Block reported that TD Cowen raised its price target on Strive by 27%, citing the firm's plans for fresh funding for bitcoin purchases and the view that warrant-related stock pressure was easing. Separately, Cointelegraph reported that Strategy conditionally declared daily dividends on its STRC instrument, which continued to hover below its $100 par value.

Stablecoin issuers were moving in a different direction. Decrypt reported that Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire told Reuters the USDC issuer plans to enter about 40 emerging and developing markets, citing rising demand in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The Block reported Circle's own revenue breakdown for the first half of 2026: about $1.4 billion in USDC revenue, with $819 million going to partners and transaction costs and $473 million reinvested. In payments, The Block reported that Coinbase will power stablecoin-backed cards for Marqeta customers, an expanded partnership building on Marqeta's earlier work on Coinbase's U.S. debit card. Cointelegraph, citing Borderless.xyz data, reported that stablecoin remittances cost 84% less than traditional transfers and settled faster than international bank wires.

Markets were quiet. Cointelegraph reported that bitcoin steadied around $82K and held above $80,000 after the Federal Reserve's Warsh avoided rate-hike hints and as South Korean tech stocks recovered. Across the tracked majors, prices in the market snapshot were little changed to slightly lower on the day. Decrypt reported that technical indicators suggested the bullish trend remained intact, while prediction-market traders sent mixed signals.

In policy, Cointelegraph reported that at least two industry-aligned PACs have spent more than $52 million opposing Sherrod Brown's return to the Senate in Ohio. CoinDesk reported that traders will soon be able to bet on whether Coinbase, Robinhood and Marathon hit their targets.

Two security stories closed the day. Decrypt reported that three Canadian Armed Forces members were charged in the kidnapping of a crypto exchange owner, with police seizing guns, silencers and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, nearly all of it allegedly stolen from the military. Cointelegraph reported that former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès said Ledger was contacted about tampered hardware-wallet risks months before its latest security crisis, and questioned the company's response.

What to watch: the Nov. 30 effective date for MSCI's reclassification, and whether Circle's emerging-markets expansion proceeds as described.