James Holbein, Author at Braumiller Law Group

Activating HTTP 402: The x402 Protocol and Legal Framework for Internet-Native Stablecoin Payments

November 30, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group and Justin Holbein Web3 Developer

The convergence of payment stablecoins, blockchain settlement infrastructure, and the regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act of 2025 has created conditions for HTTP 402’s activation. The x402 protocol, developed by Coinbase in collaboration with Cloudflare and others through the x402 Foundation, operationalizes this long-reserved status code to enable instant, automated payments: particularly for autonomous AI agents conducting machine-to-machine commerce.

Critical Minerals Focus of White House Trade Agreements in 2025

November 30, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

The Trump Administration is pursuing a new style of trade management based on use of tariffs to rectify trade deficits and to set new “reciprocal” tariff rates to level the playing field for all of its trading partners. Critical minerals are a key component of the strategy, because the U.S. is heavily dependent of foreign sources for most of the critical minerals used in modern manufacturing. In response to Trump-imposed tariffs and threats of other trade actions, China has repeatedly used export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals as leverage. This article looks at the current state of critical minerals trade actions, starting with new US agreements with multiple trading partners, then reviewing international norms and proceeding through other trade actions involving critical minerals.

Wyoming Laws More Crypto-Friendly with Issuance of State Stablecoin

September 28, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group and Justin Holbein Web3 Developer

On August 29, 2025, Wyoming made history becoming the first state in the United States to issue its own stablecoin, the Frontier (FRNT) token, marking a groundbreaking moment in state-level cryptocurrency adoption. Wyoming’s pioneering move represents more than just technological innovation. It signals a fundamental shift in how states can leverage blockchain technology with robust legal frameworks to modernize their financial infrastructure and maintain competitive advantages in the evolving digital economy.

Unconstitutionality of IEEPA Tariffs Upheld – Supreme Court to Review

September 28, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

On May 28, 2025, a three-judge panel at the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in two cases (VOS Selections, Inc. v. Trump and the State of Oregon v. Trump) that the Presidential actions taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. §§ 1701–1707) to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling are unconstitutional. The CIT said that the tariff actions did not directly address the declared emergency and were not delegated by Congress to the Executive Branch and therefore exceed the President’s tariff setting authority under the Constitution.

GENIUS Act Establishes Legal Framework for Payment Stablecoins

August 1, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group and Justin Holbein Web3 Developer

The President signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins of 2025’or ‘‘GENIUS Act of 2025’” (the Act) on July 18, 2025. The new law establishes a basis for regulators to permit a variety of bank and non-bank entities to issue payment stablecoins that will be used for payments and reserves for a variety of purposes. This analysis covers the major provisions of the new law.

Trade Letters and Tariff Deals – What Is Going On?

August 1, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

Since taking office on January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration has undertaken an aggressive trade policy that has impacted, and will continue to impact, all countries trading with the US. Many of the actions seek to reverse the established principles of trade policy that have been supported by both political parties, enshrined in the rules of international agreements and organizations, and regulated by executive branch agencies since the end of World War II.

The Tokenization Rulebook: Compliance Strategies for the Digital Asset Revolution

June 9, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Since Bitcoin’s creation in 2008, cryptocurrencies and traditional assets have largely existed in parallel. In our previous exploration of Real World Assets (RWAs) (Assessing the Benefits and Challenges of Tokenizing Real World Assets, February 7, 2024), we identified how the lack of reliable bridges between on-chain and off-chain ecosystems has constrained the transformative potential of blockchain technology.

Tariffs Legal Decisions Under IEEPA Raise Constitutional Issues for Circuit Courts

June 9, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

Several lawsuits challenging the legal validity of the tariff actions taken by President Trump since he took office on January 20, 2025, are in process of moving through the federal courts. They raise a variety of important jurisdictional and constitutional questions and seem poised to lead to challenges in federal circuit courts and the Supreme Court.

Surviving the 2025 Tariff Wave: A Strategic Guide for U.S. Importers

April 7, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

The first quarter of 2025 has reshaped the U.S. trade landscape with a flurry of executive actions by the Trump administration, introducing a new wave of tariffs on imports from almost all U.S. trading partners. The Trump Administration has also levied broad duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, on the basis of emergency powers of the Executive Branch, citing national security, border control, and illicit drug interdiction.

2025 Trade Policy Agenda Provides Rationale for Trump Tariff Actions

April 7, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

On March 3, 2025, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2025 Trade Policy Agenda and 2024 Annual Report on the Trade Agreements Program. The report outlines the rationale of the Trump Administration for its trade policy goals and actions. It complements and expands on the America First Trade Policy Executive Order and also encompasses the massive imposition of tariffs by the President on April 2 in his so-called “Liberation Day” Executive Order and Fact Sheet.

Security for New Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

April 7, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

On March 7, 2025, the White House hosted a Digital Assets Summit to celebrate the creation of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and a Digital Assets Stockpile by an Executive Order titled, “Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile“. The Executive Order recognizes that “The Bitcoin protocol permanently caps the total supply of bitcoin (BTC) at 21 million coins, which is critical to its value proposition as a scarce asset.

Is Coercion the Best Approach to North American Trade?

February 10, 2025

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

The Trump Administration has demonstrated a willingness to apply new tariffs to goods entering the U.S. as a viable tactic under its America First strategy to achieve greater fairness in its dealings with other countries. The application of tariffs is authorized under a number of standard legal procedures, such as trade remedy investigations to mitigate dumping of goods at less than fair value into the U.S. market or eliminating the unfair price advantages of government subsidies, and use of section 301 duties to respond to unfair trade practices by other countries. However, the broad-brush use of tariffs to coerce our trading partners to make concessions in non-trade areas to resolve a domestic crisis is relatively new.

Presidential Authority to Unilaterally Raise Tariffs

December 11, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

This article examines the constitutional authorities and various statutes that reserve tariff authorities for Congress and some legal authorities in which Congress has delegated tariff authorities to the President. The U.S. is a party to numerous multilateral and regional trade agreements that have binding tariff commitments that will be impacted as well.

Legal and Other Issues Being Resolved by Port Strike

October 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel

The union and management teams reached a settlement agreement that was announced on October 4, 2024 to end the port strike. The settlement does not resolve the issues, but extends the master contract to Jan. 15, 2025, to allow the sides to negotiate outstanding issues. A final agreement must be ratified by union members.

Wyoming’s DUNA Law – A Legal Framework for Non-Profit DAOs and Open-Source Blockchain Networks

October 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are a novel form of governance for blockchain-based protocols. Unlike traditional companies or non-profits, DAOs are member-controlled organizations that operate without a central authority or hierarchical management. Instead, DAOS use smart contracts, often on the Ethereum blockchain. DAOs often use governance tokens to enable members to vote on proposals, make collective decisions about the organization’s operations, treasury, and future development.

Using a Contract Review Checklist for Commercial International Trade Contracts

August 9, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney

In the complex world of commercial international trade, contracts serve as the foundation for successful transactions. A well-prepared contract review checklist provides a basis for lawyers to ensure that all necessary terms and conditions are covered, protecting all parties involved. This article outlines the essential components of a contract review checklist related to goods in international trade. The goal is to provide a structured approach to reviewing and drafting contracts, beyond the basics of INCOTERMS.

Summary of the Findings of the USTR Four-Year Review of Actions Taken in the Section 301 Investigation

June 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Brandon French, Senior Associate Attorney

On May 14, 2024, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its Final Report relating to the four-year review of actions taken in the Section 301 investigation. Within the Report, the USTR confirmed that it intends to take actions to raise tariffs on specific products as a result of the comprehensive review.

Recent Developments in Digital Assets Policy

June 7, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Digital assets, including blockchain and cryptocurrency protocols and companies, have been in a defensive posture for much of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and numerous enforcement actions taken by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have forced the sector to retrench and upgrade their abilities to meet the higher standards of securities laws.

Evolving Legal Norms for Artificial Intelligence in the European Union and the United States

April 1, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic for the last 2-3 years for politicians, technologists, and many people in civil societies globally. The use of the technology has obvious benefits for increasing productivity and value produced by businesses and organizations, along with dangers from misuse, such as deep fake propaganda and serious security risks. Two recent efforts to develop legislation addressing AI technology offer an opportunity to compare and contrast the differing approaches in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US).

Assessing the Benefits and Challenges of Tokenizing Real World Assets

February 5, 2024

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Justin Holbein

The world of cryptocurrencies on blockchains and the world of traditional assets in markets have often stood in stark contrast to one another since Bitcoin’s creation in 2008. The lack of a reliable bridge between these two worlds has limited the impact of cryptocurrencies on assets in the real-world outside of on-chain speculation and prevented adoption of the benefits that blockchain technologies can bring to real world processes.