Bitcoin (BTC) is showing fresh downside risks as a deepening standoff between corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (MSTR) and global index provider MSCI collides with a weakening technical structure.
Key takeaways:
Bull flag setup risks sending BTC price to $77.4K
As of Wednesday, Bitcoin has consolidated within a bear flag, a short-lived recovery that typically forms after a sharp sell-off and often resolves with a trend continuation.
The structure suggests sellers are regrouping rather than exiting positions, especially as BTC continues to trade below its declining 100-day and 200-day exponential moving averages.
A decisive breakdown below the flag’s lower trendline would confirm the bearish continuation setup, opening the door for a measured move toward the $77,400 level.
Conversely, BTC could invalidate the bearish outlook if its price breaks decisively above the 50-4H exponential moving average (50-4H EMA; the red wave) at around $88,655, as well as the flag’s upper trendline around $90,000.
Is Strategy the target of a “hit job”?
Beyond technicals, Bitcoin’s downside could be triggered by growing uncertainty around Strategy, one of the largest corporate holders of BTC, as MSCI reviews whether to exclude companies whose digital assets account for a majority of their balance sheets.
MSCI’s pending decision, expected by Jan. 15, 2026, could introduce a fresh layer of institutional risk just as Bitcoin’s price structure weakens, according to CryptoQuant author GugaOnChain.
Related: Strategy and Bitcoin supporters call for ‘boycott’ of JP Morgan
“If MSTR is excluded from indexes such as MSCI, billions in automatic sales of its shares by passive funds would be triggered,” he wrote in a Tuesday post, adding:
“Although the direct impact would fall on MSTR, the crypto market would interpret this as a sign of institutional attack on the company’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy.”
JPMorgan also warned that if Strategy is excluded from MSCI indexes, passive funds tracking those benchmarks could be forced into billions of dollars in equity sales.
Analyst Adrian accused JPMorgan of running a “MSTR hit job” to force investors into its own Bitcoin-focused leveraged investment products. He wrote in an X post:
“They are trying to kill $MSTR to engineer a migration to their products for Bitcoin leverage exposure.”
Amid growing MSCI-related uncertainty, Strategy has moved to reassure markets about its financial resilience if Bitcoin’s downturn deepens.
In a Nov. 26 statement, the company said that even if Bitcoin falls to its average cost basis of around $74,000, it would still maintain a 5.9 times asset coverage relative to its convertible debt, a metric it refers to as its “BTC Rating” of debt.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
