In after-hours trading on Tuesday, shares of Strategy (MSTR.US) climbed as much as 6%. This followed a decision by index provider MSCI to delay the removal of "Digital Asset Treasury Companies" (DATs) from its index suite.

MSCI stated in a release that further study and more consultation with market participants are needed to distinguish between "investment companies" and firms that hold non-operating assets, such as digital assets, as a core component of their principal business activities, rather than purely for investment purposes.

MSCI indicated that evaluating the index eligibility of such companies may require the introduction of additional inclusion criteria, for example, based on financial statements or other metrics.

MSCI also emphasized that, for the time being, the current index treatment will remain unchanged for the relevant companies on its previously announced preliminary list that hold digital assets representing 50% or more of their total assets.

The market widely perceives this decision as temporarily easing investor concerns about the risk of passive fund outflows from the affected companies.

For businesses that hold digital assets as a significant component of their balance sheets, remaining in major indexes helps sustain institutional capital allocation and market liquidity.