Nova Labs Walks Free as SEC Ends Legal Fight Over Helium

Crypto News Regulation

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: April 11, 2025

Key Takeaways

The SEC has officially closed its case against Nova Labs, which ended accusations over its 2019 Helium token launch;
Helium’s tokens and Hotspots are no longer viewed as securities under SEC rules, according to the company;
Nova Labs paid a $200,000 settlement tied to fundraising, with no admission or denial of wrongdoing.

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Nova Labs Walks Free as SEC Ends Legal Fight Over Helium

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Nova Labs, the company behind Helium, a decentralized wireless network, shared on April 10 that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially closed its case against them.

The lawsuit, filed in January 2025, accused Nova Labs of offering unregistered securities when it launched the Helium HNT $2.09 token in 2019.

It was one of the last acts made by the SEC under former Chair Gary Gensler, who left his position on January 20. Helium’s CEO, Amir Haleem, described the lawsuit as "the last gasp of a failed crusade against crypto companies in the US".

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Helium said the outcome confirms that its tokens—HNT, IOT, and MOBILE—and the sale of Helium Hotspots are not considered securities. The company also noted that using tokens to help grow a network does not automatically make them securities in the SEC’s view.

The SEC had also claimed that Nova Labs gave investors the wrong idea about partnerships with companies like Nestlé and Salesforce. But now that the case has been dropped with prejudice, the SEC cannot bring up the same accusations again.

Nova Labs agreed to pay $200,000 related to its Series D fundraising round as part of a separate agreement with the regulator. This was done without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.

On March 19, the SEC officially dropped its case and appeal against cryptocurrency firm Ripple. What did CEO Brad Garlinghouse say about the decision? Read the full story.