Bitcoin for companies asks JPX to withdraw its proposal to exclude crypto belongings from TOPIX

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — April 26, 2026 — Bitcoin for Enterprise (BFC) at the moment joined with its member corporations and different affected market contributors to name on JPX Market Innovation and Analysis, Inc. (JPX) to withdraw its proposal to exclude crypto-based corporations from new inclusion in TOPIX and different recurrently reviewed indices.

In JPXI’s April 3, 2026 session, no particular numerical thresholds have been introduced. As an alternative, corporations whose main belongings are crypto belongings will postpone new inclusion within the TOPIX and different recurrently reviewed indexes “for the foreseeable future.” The session additionally acknowledged that the proposal wouldn’t apply to corporations already included within the index.

The BFC and collaborating corporations oppose this proposal, saying it isn’t a real investability rule. TOPIX already has goal standards designed to guard investability and stability, together with liquidity screening, float-adjusted market capitalization standards, continuation buffers, and present remedy for delisting and different itemizing high quality occasions. The proposed exclusion of crypto belongings doesn’t assess liquidity, free float, replicability, or high quality of itemizing. As an alternative, we exclude corporations due to their stability sheet construction.

“TOPIX is meant to be a broad, impartial, investable benchmark for the Japanese inventory market,” mentioned George Mehail, Managing Director of Bitcoin for Companies. “If an organization meets regular market-based eligibility standards, excluding an organization due to one asset class is just not a standard investability overview. It’s a coverage judgment concerning one asset class and doesn’t fall inside the mainstream market benchmark methodology.”

The BFC mentioned the proposal raises 4 major considerations.

1. This isn’t a very good investability rule. Though the session is framed by way of investability and stability, the proposed exemptions don’t deal with the standards that usually decide whether or not a inventory belongs to a broad market index, equivalent to liquidity, free float, market capitalization, or high quality of itemizing. This introduces asset-specific screens to benchmarks that have already got goal eligibility guidelines.
2. It’s too imprecise to be managed persistently. The session refers to corporations whose “major belongings are crypto belongings” however doesn’t clarify how that normal could be utilized in observe. It doesn’t say whether or not the take a look at relies on guardian or consolidated inventory holdings, whether or not it covers subsidiaries or associates, or whether or not it captures oblique exposures by securities or comparable devices. Guidelines that can not be utilized clearly and persistently shouldn’t be inserted into flagship benchmarks.
3. It creates extra substantial arbitrage than the apparent type. If direct holding of Bitcoin by a guardian firm is objectionable, however comparable publicity by an entirely owned subsidiary, affiliate, or strategic fairness place is objectionable, the rule could be focusing on authorized type relatively than financial substance. This is able to encourage stability sheet engineering relatively than enhancing the standard of the index.
4. That is pre-emptive and unrestricted. October 2026 would be the first periodic overview underneath the next-generation TOPIX framework, which permits normal and progress market corporations to qualify by the brand new course of. Nevertheless, JPX proposes to exclude sure classes of corporations earlier than being evaluated based mostly on regular standards. On the similar time, the session states that the exemption will apply “in the intervening time” with out setting a transparent overview interval, exit standards or exit mechanism. It isn’t a disciplined framework. It’s an indefinite postponement with unclear boundaries.

BFC additionally famous that main international index suppliers are treating this concern extra fastidiously. MSCI thought-about a threshold-based exclusion for digital asset treasury corporations, however in the end didn’t undertake an outright exclusion, as a substitute recognizing the necessity for additional efforts to differentiate working corporations from non-operating and investment-like entities. FTSE Russell has not introduced an equal blanket exclusion. Within the BFC’s view, JPX ought to exhibit comparable restraint, relatively than continuing with a cryptocurrency-only exclusion earlier than broader ideas are outlined.

Extra broadly, the difficulty additionally extends to the neutrality, reliability and representativeness of Japan’s flagship fairness benchmarks, the BFC mentioned.

“If JPX believes there are broader questions concerning extremely concentrated corporations and firms near funding, an asset-neutral framework that’s utilized persistently could be extra applicable,” Mehail mentioned. “Introducing imprecise guidelines which can be simple to avoid and tough to handle to single out a single asset class could be unprecedented and divorced from TOPIX’s precise investability standards.”

Bitcoin for Enterprise and collaborating market contributors are asking JPXI to:

• Reversing proposed exemption for corporations whose main belongings are crypto belongings
• Sustaining TOPIX as a impartial, broad rules-based benchmark tied to goal investability and itemizing high quality requirements
• Chorus from adopting open-ended deferrals with out clear overview processes, exit standards, or exit mechanisms.
• Have interaction with issuers and market contributors on a broader, asset-neutral framework earlier than altering the TOPIX methodology

Establishments and particular person buyers can view the total place letter and add their signatures at topix.bitcoinforcorporations.com.