Eric Tung, a company lawyer with a observe document of representing crypto companies, is poised to hitch probably the most influential federal courts in america.
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 associate on the legislation agency Jones Day since 2019, has had purchasers that embrace digital forex corporations.
Court docket information present that Tung represented the advocacy group Blockchain Affiliation whereas at Jones Day in a case filed by six Twister Money customers in opposition to the US Treasury Division. He additionally represented an investor submitting a lawsuit in opposition to HDR World Buying and selling Restricted, the mum or dad firm of the BitMEX alternate.
Ought to he be confirmed as a federal choose, he would seemingly cowl appeals in circumstances involving Silicon Valley-based companies that file within the jurisdiction, which would come with many cryptocurrency corporations.
Watchdog flags deregulatory push
Tung’s appointment has drawn criticism, with watchdog group Accountable.US saying the potential choose might assist 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 guide the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee.
“Tung has constructed his profession representing crypto companies searching 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 usually are not securities. He represented the Blockchain Affiliation in a quick opposing regulation of immutable good contracts. Whereas representing an funding agency backing crypto corporations, he argued for looser legal responsibility on a crypto software.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Tung for remark however had not acquired a response on the time of publication.
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Vital crypto circumstances have handed by way of the Ninth Circuit
Any federal choose overseeing appeals can have appreciable affect over how civil and prison circumstances are dealt with sooner or later. Many expertise corporations, 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 based mostly in California, went by way 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 acquired 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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