Helium Wins Big: SEC Drops Securities Case Against Nova Labs

• The SEC has dismissed its lawsuit against Nova Labs, ruling Helium’s tokens are not securities.
• Helium’s HNT, IOT, and MOBILE tokens are now legally cleared for distribution under U.S. law.
• The case marks a major win for DePIN projects using crypto to build real-world infrastructure.

Helium’s long legal battle with U.S. regulators has come to an end. On April 10, the SEC officially dismissed its lawsuit against Nova Labs, the team behind the Helium Network. This marks a pivotal decision for crypto, especially decentralized networks using token incentives to power real-world infrastructure. The dismissal means that the SEC has dropped all claims that Helium’s tokens are unregistered securities.

Originally filed in January 2025, the lawsuit accused Nova Labs of violating securities laws by distributing Helium (HNT), IOT, and MOBILE tokens. The agency also alleged that the team misled investors about partnerships with major firms like Nestlé and Salesforce. With the SEC dismissing the charges, the case cannot be reopened. 

In its blog post, Helium declared that this outcome establishes its tokens are not securities. The SEC’s decision offers a major boost to the broader DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) movement. The court confirmed that the token-based hardware distribution does not automatically qualify as a securities offering.

This development came following the appointment of Paul Atkins as the next SEC Chair. Wiith a change in leadership, several top crypto cases have been dropped, which include Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, and Uniswap. President Trump’s administration has promised to make the U.S. a global leader in crypto adoption. His orders include the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve and appointing pro-crypto figures to regulatory roles.

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Helium co-founder and Nova Labs CEO Amir Haleem previously criticized the lawsuit as a last-minute move by a fading administration. In the resolution, Nova Labs agreed to pay a $200,000 no-fault settlement over its Series D equity offering, a fraction of the penalties seen in past SEC crypto enforcement actions.

The decision has energized the Helium community. The project, which supports over 375,000 active wireless hotspots, can now move forward without legal overhang. Helium remains committed to building open, affordable, wireless infrastructure powered by people and not by corporations. Following the news, the HNT token surged 10.25% in 24 hours, trading at $3.00. 

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