JPMorgan Chase (JPM) spent the third quarter buying more of Strategy (MSTR). Then MSCI went and ruined the party.
The bank increased its Strategy common stock holdings by 224,545 shares in Q3, bringing its position to 848,932 shares as of Sept. 30, according to its latest 13F filing with the SEC cited by The Block. That's up from 624,387 shares at the end of June, a stake the bank valued at roughly $131.3 million when MSTR traded near $155.
Why That Stake Looks Different Today
Strategy shares closed Thursday at $114.41, down roughly 6.5% on the day. At that price, JPMorgan's reported MSTR position would be worth about $97.1 million, roughly 26% below what the filing valued it at just six weeks earlier.
Bitcoin fell alongside the stock, dropping 7% over 24 hours to $68,408, its lowest level since August 20.
MSCI's December 1 Removal Adds Billions in Selling Risk
MSCI confirmed it will remove Strategy from its benchmark indexes after the Nov. 30 close, MarketDash reported, a move that raises the risk of forced selling from funds tracking those benchmarks.
Strategy previously warned the exclusion could trigger approximately $2.8 billion in stock sales, while JPMorgan itself estimated outflows could reach $8.8 billion if other index providers follow MSCI's lead, though that larger figure remains conditional.
Here's the timing wrinkle: JPMorgan's 13F snapshot reflects positions as of Sept. 30, well before MSCI's removal decision became public. So the bank's actual current exposure may look considerably different today. Maybe it sold. Maybe it bought more. The filing won't tell you.
JPMorgan's Broader Crypto Shopping Spree
The Strategy bet wasn't a one-off. JPMorgan also expanded its broader crypto exposure across several positions:
- BlackRock's IBIT (IBIT): grew 9.6% to 11,408,930 shares, worth approximately $540 million, up from 10,407,635 shares the prior quarter
- Coinbase (COIN): 1,581,814 shares
- Robinhood (HOOD): a stake in the company
- Bitcoin miners: positions across Core Scientific (CORZ), MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Hut 8 (HUT) and CleanSpark (CLSK)
So the bank was leaning into crypto across the board last quarter. Whether that looks smart or painful depends a lot on what happens between now and Dec. 1, when MSCI's removal takes effect and the forced-selling math starts running.
