Eric Tung, a corporate lawyer with a track record of representing crypto firms, is poised to join one of the most influential federal courts in the United States.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump sent Tung’s nomination to the Senate to be a US Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, which covers Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, Alaska and Hawaii.

Tung, a partner at the law firm Jones Day since 2019, has had clients that include digital currency companies.

Court records show that Tung represented the advocacy group Blockchain Association while at Jones Day in a case filed by six Tornado Cash users against the US Treasury Department. He also represented an investor filing a lawsuit against HDR Global Trading Limited, the parent company of the BitMEX exchange.

Should he be confirmed as a federal judge, he would likely cover appeals in cases involving Silicon Valley-based businesses that file in the jurisdiction, which would include many cryptocurrency companies.

Watchdog flags deregulatory push

Tung’s appointment has drawn criticism, with watchdog organization Accountable.US saying the potential judge could support deregulating digital assets as part of the Trump administration’s crypto agenda.

The president has already radically changed leadership at financial agencies overseeing digital assets such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and has his pick under consideration in the Senate to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“Tung has built his career representing crypto firms seeking to avoid government regulation,” said the watchdog, in a Thursday notice.

“He served as counsel for a stablecoin provider in a brief arguing standalone sales of stablecoins are not securities. He represented the Blockchain Association in a brief opposing regulation of immutable smart contracts. While representing an investment firm backing crypto companies, he argued for looser liability on a crypto tool.”

Coinpectra reached out to Tung for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Related: Court ends Coin Center-US Treasury appeal over Tornado Cash

Significant crypto cases have passed through the Ninth Circuit

Any federal judge overseeing appeals can have considerable influence over how civil and criminal cases are handled in the future. Many technology companies, including those involved with crypto and blockchain, file in the Ninth Circuit when appropriate.

In 2024, a panel of three judges in the circuit partially reversed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Binance.US had manipulated the price of Hex (HEX). Nvidia, the semiconductor company based in California, went through the Ninth Circuit in a 2018 case brought by some of its shareholders over undisclosed sales to crypto miners. 

As of Tuesday, Tung’s nomination had been received by the Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. It’s unclear when the chamber will consider a vote on the potential federal judge, as both the House of Representatives and the Senate have been focused on passing three bills related to digital assets.

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