Principles: A cue, a routine, and a reward. Habits are formed with these three simple elements. Some are imposed, like the Economic Report of the President. Leaders of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) that produce the Report are the who’s who of policy. Arthur Burns, Alan Greenspan, Janet Yellen, and Ben Bernanke all led the Fed after stints at the CEA. It’s an opportunity to get closer to the politics of policy. The latest Report left nothing to chance in more than 500 pages. Of all the critical issues – unsustainable debt, high inflation, income inequality, generational imbalance, and war, the hard-hitting commentary was left for…digital assets. And there can be no question where sentiment stands. “Digital asset proponents are now aspiring to create a decentralized financial system without relying on governments and their regulatory frameworks,” was a moderate statement. The creation of bitcoin, building on decades of scientific research, is observed as “something of a repudiation of the existing financial intermediaries that caused the crisis,” based on its 2009 birthdate, not the math. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and payment systems built on those rails led to the acceleration of FedNow, the Fed’s answer to private stablecoin to be launched in July. If digital asset markets reside outside of regulatory perimeters, it will be by the choice of policy, not its actors. Digital asset markets were the first responders to the challenges of a sharp rise in interest rates. No bailouts were asked. Base layers that dominate the ecosystem ran without fail. And well-designed stablecoin thrived with record transaction volumes. Digital assets are re-learning economic principles. Policy is re-writing its principles of the banking system…again.