Eric Tung, a company lawyer with a monitor report of representing crypto companies, is poised to affix probably the most influential federal courts in the US.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump despatched Tung’s nomination to the Senate to be a US Circuit Choose for the Ninth Circuit, which covers Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California Alaska and Hawaii.
Tung, a accomplice on the legislation agency Jones Day since 2019, has had shoppers that embody digital forex firms.
Courtroom data present that Tung represented the advocacy group Blockchain Affiliation whereas at Jones Day in a case filed by six Twister Money customers towards the US Treasury Division. He additionally represented an investor submitting a lawsuit towards HDR International Buying and selling Restricted, the dad or mum firm of the BitMEX change.
Ought to he be confirmed as a federal choose, he would probably cowl appeals in instances involving Silicon Valley-based companies that file within the jurisdiction, which would come with many cryptocurrency firms.
Watchdog flags deregulatory push
Tung’s appointment has drawn criticism, with watchdog group Accountable.US saying the potential choose might help deregulating digital belongings as a part of Trump’s administration crypto agenda.
The president has already radically modified management at monetary companies overseeing digital belongings such because the US Securities and Trade Fee, and has his decide into account within the Senate to steer the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee.
“Tung has constructed his profession representing crypto companies looking for to keep away from authorities regulation,” stated the watchdog, in a Thursday discover.
“He served as counsel for a stablecoin supplier in a quick arguing standalone gross sales of stablecoins aren’t securities. He represented the Blockchain Affiliation in a quick opposing regulation of immutable good contracts. Whereas representing an funding agency backing crypto firms, he argued for looser legal responsibility on a crypto software.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Tung for remark however had not obtained a response on the time of publication.
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Important crypto instances have handed by means of the Ninth Circuit
Any federal choose overseeing appeals can have appreciable affect over how civil and prison instances are dealt with sooner or later. Many know-how firms, together with these concerned with crypto and blockchain, file within the Ninth Circuit when applicable.
In 2024, a panel of three judges within the circuit partially reversed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Binance.US had manipulated the worth of Hex (HEX). Nvidia, the semiconductor firm primarily based in California, went by means of the Ninth Circuit in a 2018 case introduced by a few of its shareholders over undisclosed gross sales to crypto miners.
As of Tuesday, Tung’s nomination had been obtained by the Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. It’s unclear when the chamber will think about a vote on the potential federal choose, as each the Home of Representatives and the Senate have been centered on passing three payments associated to digital belongings.
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