Michael Saylor speaks out after denial of inclusion in S&P 500 Index

In a surprising turn of events, Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) has been selected for inclusion in the S&P 500, a move that was anticipated to go to Strategy Inc.

Strategy Inc's strong financial performance and industry relevance, coupled with its Bitcoin treasury firm, could have made it a more suitable candidate for the position. However, the S&P 500 committee decided against including Strategy Inc., citing concerns over the company's reliance on Bitcoin price fluctuations.

The committee deemed it risky to add a company almost entirely dependent on Bitcoin's volatility, viewing it more as a Bitcoin tracker than a traditional company. In contrast, Robinhood Markets Inc., with its demonstrated structural growth and recovery from the meme-stock phase, along with strong quarterly results and increasing crypto-related revenues, was admitted to the S&P 500.

Robinhood, a company associated with cryptocurrency, has recently crossed the $100 billion market capitalization milestone in July. Its inclusion in the S&P 500 will take effect by September 22, replacing Caesars Entertainment.

The rejection of Strategy Inc.'s inclusion in the S&P 500 has sparked debate among investors. Despite this setback, Strategy Inc has reiterated its commitment to its five-year-long Bitcoin acquisition strategy. In fact, on September 2, Strategy Inc submitted an 8-K filing with the SEC, showing it had acquired 4,048 Bitcoin for $449.3 million between August 26 and September 1, 2021.

The current Bitcoin price stands at $110,784.93, with a 1.39% dip over the last 24 hours. Strategy Inc. currently holds a total of 636,505 BTC, now worth over $70.5 billion. This strong Bitcoin accumulation strategy has led Strategy Inc's shares to outperform the S&P 500 (SPY) despite the rejection.

Michael Saylor, Chairman of Strategy Inc (NASDAQ: MSTR), expressed disappointment over the S&P 500's rejection of Strategy's inclusion. The news caused a 2% decline in MSTR shares. However, on Friday, MSTR closed the market at $335.87, with a 2.53% increase, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Infographics shared by Michael Saylor show that MSTR has recorded an annualized growth of 55% in terms of "Bitcoin Standard Era Return." Moreover, MSTR has surged by 92%, while the SPY has only increased by 14%.

In conclusion, while the S&P 500 index selection process is now being questioned by investors, both Strategy Inc and Robinhood Markets Inc continue to make significant strides in the cryptocurrency market.