Daily Observation of Cryptocurrency Concept Stocks: SEC Chairman Atkins Takes the Stage for Bitcoin 2026, How the "Project Crypto" Five-Category Asset Classification System Will Reshape the Valuation of Listed Companies

1. Historical Signal: The Symbolic Significance of the First Sitting SEC Chair Attending

Historically, no sitting SEC chair has attended the annual Bitcoin conference; the Bitcoin 2026 conference attracted over 40,000 attendees, with Atkins appearing alongside CFTC Chair Michael Selig------the simultaneous presence of both SEC and CFTC chairs at the same Bitcoin conference is a first in U.S. regulatory history. Atkins had already made it clear at the Washington Blockchain Summit in March: "The SEC's long-standing failure to provide clear answers regarding the legal status of digital assets has ended." The signal value of this political stance should not be underestimated: one of the most significant sources of valuation discounts for crypto stocks over the past decade has been the "risk of the SEC potentially classifying a business as an illegal securities intermediary"------the chair's personal attendance at the industry's annual conference is the most direct public removal of this risk.

2. "Project Crypto": The Differentiated Impact of Five Classification Categories on Listed Companies

In April 2026, the SEC released a digital asset classification system, categorizing crypto assets into five major categories, four of which are explicitly not considered securities under federal securities law; it also proposed an "innovation exemption" mechanism to provide market participants with a clear path to initiate tokenized securities trading within a compliance framework. For Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: $COIN), the clear classification of four asset types as non-securities means that its core spot trading business can operate with more flexibility under the CFTC framework; Coinbase Institutional's role as a custodian for several institutional-grade products like Morgan Stanley MSBT also becomes more solidified. For Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: $CRCL), the most critical classification issue is: if USDC is explicitly categorized as a "payment tool" rather than an investment contract, it will fundamentally eliminate SEC enforcement risks, allowing its business model to achieve a regulatory classification similar to bank-like payment tools.

3. Earnings Season Verification Point: Can Regulatory Expectations Be Realized in Performance?

Improvement in the regulatory environment is a necessary condition for valuation reconstruction, but not a sufficient condition------the market will ultimately verify whether policy dividends can be converted into real revenue through performance numbers. Coinbase's Q1 2026 earnings report will be released after the market closes on May 7, with consensus revenue expectations of about $1.56 billion, and subscription and service revenue guidance in the range of $550 million to $630 million. Circle's Q1 2026 earnings report is expected to be released on May 11, with consensus revenue expectations of about $718 million. These two earnings reports will land just before the expected window for the CLARITY Act markup, forming a cross-verification of policy expectations and performance realities------if both exceed expectations, it will provide fundamental support for the valuation recovery of crypto stocks in the second quarter; if either misses, it may suppress overall sector sentiment before the policy catalyst is realized.

The Federal Reserve Decision and Bitcoin 2026 Form the Dual Variables This Week

The regulatory signals from the Bitcoin 2026 conference and the Federal Reserve's two-day interest rate meeting starting today constitute a dual framework for the valuation of crypto stocks this week. Bitcoin has risen about 14% since the beginning of the year, with spot ETFs seeing net inflows for four consecutive weeks, accumulating about $2.5 billion in April alone, indicating sufficiently clear structural institutional demand. The core risk lies in: if the Federal Reserve releases hawkish signals or delays the path to rate cuts, it will suppress overall sentiment for risk assets; if the CLARITY Act has not initiated markup before "the end of May," the favorable regulatory expectations will face another discount. For investors in crypto stocks, this week is a rare window where both variables are simultaneously validated------SEC Chair Atkins' statement has already landed, and the Federal Reserve's decision will be revealed tomorrow, with both determining whether the dual narrative of macro and regulatory factors in the second quarter can truly take shape.

Data source: https://bbx.com/ Crypto stock information database, compiled based on yesterday's announcements from global listed companies and SEC/TSE disclosure documents.