12/14 update below. This post was originally published on December 12
Bitcoin and crypto prices have struggled since peaking in early October, with traders fearful the market could be about to take a $1 trillion hit.
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The bitcoin price has dropped to around $90,000 per bitcoin, falling from its all-time high of $126,000 in October, even as U.S. president Donald Trump primes the market for an “immidiate” game-changer.
Now, as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues a “huge” crypto prediction, Michael Saylor has warned of “chaos, confusion,” and “profoundly harmful consequences” if his bitcoin-buying company Strategy is ejected from MSCI indices.
12/14 update: Strategy has retained its place in the Nasdaq 100 one year after being inducted into the tech-heavy exchange’s benchmark index.
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Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor has warned of “profoundly harmful consequences” if his company Strategy is ejected from MSCI’s global equity benchmarks—something that trigger a bitcoin price crash.
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“The bitcoin hoarding will continue until the complaining stops,” Strategy founder Michael Saylor posted to X, sharing a Reuters report on Nasdaq’s latest reshuffle.
Last year, Strategy’s inclusion on the Nasdaq 100, which is the basis for the popular Invesco QQQ exchange-traded fund, was predicted to result in about $2.1 billion in net buying of the company’s shares as portfolios adjust to the move, according to Bernstein analysts.
The company rode the bitcoin price boom into 2024 but has struggled as the bull market has lost momentum in recent months.
The Nasdaq decision is a relief for Strategy share holders following the company’s 60% stock price plummet from its all-time highs over the last six months.
Nasdaq’s decision, which could have torpedoed the company’s valuation if it had gone the other way, was cheered by bitcoin supporters.
“Those who don’t own bitcoin will become increasingly irrelevant,” author and bitcoin influencer Adam Livingston posted to X. “They can fight all they want. Victory is inevitable.”
Livingston added that the tone of the debate around Strategy and its inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 and MSCI indices suggests, “people want Strategy to fail.”
“Have you ever actually seen a group of people consistently advocate for the collapse or liquidation of a company the way they do against Strategy,” he asked.
However, a bitcoin price slump has followed the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates this week, raising fears of a full-blown bitcoin price crash could be looming.
“Fear and greed indices have moved into extreme fear. All of this supports deeper corrective action,” Markus Levin, co-founder of the blockchain company XYO, told DLNews.
Saylor has written to MSCI, asking it to drop a proposal that would bar companies whose crypto holdings exceed 50% of their total assets from its global equity benchmarks.
In the 12-page letter, Saylor and Strategy’s chief executive Phong Le warned of “profoundly harmful consequences” if MSCI adopts the proposal, with a decision expected by January 15.
“MSCI can either succumb to the reactive short-sightedness that established institutions sometimes display toward innovation, or it can allow its indices to reflect, neutrally and faithfully, the next era of financial technology,” the pair wrote. “The wiser course—for MSCI, for investors, and for the broader economy—is for MSCI to remain neutral and let the markets decide the course of [digital asset treasury companies].”
If MSCI does adopt the proposal, it could lead to outflows of as much as $8.8 billion from Strategy’s stock if other index providers follow suit, according to a JPMorgan estimate.
Saylor’s remarks were echoed by Adam Back, the chief executive of bitcoin development company Blockstream who was cited in the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin white paper, telling Yahoo Finance that we are still in the “very early stages” of bitcoin adoption and that all companies will eventually become bitcoin treasury companies.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered has slashed its end of 2025 bitcoin price prediction, halving it from $200,000 to $100,000.
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The bitcoin price has fallen sharply from its peak of $126,000 per bitcoin, with fears swirling a bitcoin price crash could be on the horizon.
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“We think buying by bitcoin digital asset treasury companies is likely over,” Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, wrote in an emailed note, adding bitcoin treasury company “buying is unlikely to provide further support.”
Bitcoin and crypto treasury companies have hoovered up around 1 million bitcoin worth almost $100 billion this year, rivaling the bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that now hold 1.5 million bitcoin worth $1.4 billion.
While bitcoin treasury companies have slowed their buying, analysts expect ETF purchases to continue buying bitcoin into 2026.
“We now think future bitcoin price increases will effectively be driven by one leg only–ETF buying,” Kendrick said.
Others have also pointed to improving bitcoin ETF inflows as a potential catalyst for a coming bitcoin price surge.
“For prices to break higher, the bullish momentum from the rate cut needs to overpower the concentrated short pressure sitting near the $94,500 resistance level,” David Hernandez, crypto investment specialist at 21shares, said in emailed comments.
“If spot ETF inflows strengthen as expected now that the cost of capital is falling, that could become the spark that transforms caution into momentum and drives bitcoin back above the $100,000 psychological barrier.”