The SEC Just Included Digital Assets In Its 5-Year Strategic Plan. Which Cryptocurrencies Could See the Biggest Gains?

On June 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its Draft Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2030. SEC chairman Paul Atkins, who was sworn in last April, described the draft as the start of a "new day" for clearer crypto regulations, reduced enforcement overreach, and the modernization of the agency's systems to support innovation while protecting investors.

The SEC's focus on the crypto market is one of the most consequential parts of that plan. It states that "crypto asset technologies have the potential to revolutionize America's financial infrastructure and deliver new optionality, efficiencies, cost reductions, transparency, and risk mitigation for the benefit of all Americans."

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But to nurture its growth, the plan calls for the agency to provide a "firm regulatory foundation for digital assets and distributed ledger technologies through a rational, coherent, and principled approach." It also calls for clearer separation of regulatory responsibilities between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding cryptocurrencies.

This draft plan, along with the proposed CLARITY Act to regulate digital assets, indicates that the government is taking cryptocurrencies much more seriously. Let's see which tokens will benefit from that shift -- and which ones could be left in the dust.

The cryptocurrencies that will benefit from tighter regulations

The SEC and CFTC have already jointly approved Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies, as commodities rather than securities. That designation should shield them from tighter regulations, which will likely classify many smaller cryptocurrencies as "unlicensed securities" rather than commodities.

That downward pressure on the smaller tokens should drive more institutional investors to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Ethereum, the world's largest developer-oriented blockchain, will also benefit from a crackdown on smaller decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contract platforms. Ethereum's more resilient Layer-1 (L1) blockchain competitors, including Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Cardano (CRYPTO: SOL), should also resist that selling pressure.

Under those new regulations, stablecoins that are fully backed by U.S. dollars and Treasuries could also become a viable alternative to real U.S. dollars. That's bad news for traditional banks, but it's great news for stablecoin issuers like Circle (NYSE: CRCL).

Niche tokens like LINK (CRYPTO: LINK) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) could also stabilize -- but not necessarily soar -- as the SEC tightens its regulations. LINK will thrive as more developer-driven blockchains draw more data from Chainlink's oracle network (which aggregates real-time data for decentralized apps). XRP, primarily used as a bridge currency for fiat transactions, could gain more momentum as a cheaper, faster alternative to SWIFT for cross-border payments.

The cryptocurrencies that will crumble under tighter regulations

Smaller altcoins that aren't valued by their scarcity, like Bitcoin, or by their usefulness to developers, like Ethereum, will likely struggle to attract investors as regulations tighten. The obvious losers include meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, which both lost more than half their value over the past 12 months.

"Privacy coins" like Monero and Dash, which claim to be completely anonymous, could also be delisted under the SEC's new rules. Higher regulatory and compliance costs could also make it much more difficult for small teams of developers to launch new tokens, further consolidating the market under the larger blue chip tokens.

What could the SEC's proposed plans mean for investors?

The SEC says the "rapid growth" of the cryptocurrency market has "outpaced the existing regulatory framework". In other words, the crypto market's "wild west" days are ending -- and investors should sell the weaker altcoins that won't survive the tighter market regulations.

They should still stick with the market's bellwethers, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but they shouldn't expect those top cryptocurrencies to replicate their massive gains from the past decade. Instead, their prices will likely stabilize as they're more broadly used for mainstream payments and financial transactions.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Chainlink, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Monero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.