SEC Drops Lawsuit Against Helium: What It Means for the Crypto Industry

On April 10, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the dismissal of its lawsuit against Nova Labs, the development company behind the Helium network. The SEC had previously accused Nova Labs of issuing unregistered securities in 2019.

According to Helium's official blog, the SEC formally dropped the lawsuit against Nova Labs on April 10, with the dismissal carrying a "with prejudice" clause. This means that the SEC cannot bring similar charges against Helium regarding the 2019 issuance of HNT tokens again. More importantly, the SEC has clarified that all compatible Helium Hotspots and the distribution of HNT, IOT, and MOBILE tokens through the Helium Network are not considered securities. In its blog, Helium call the dismiss "a major win for Helium and THE PEOPLE"

Helium is a decentralized wireless network designed to provide low-cost, distributed connectivity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices through blockchain technology. On January 17, 2025, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs, alleging that the issuance of HNT and other tokens violated securities laws. This action was one of the last enforcement measures against the crypto industry under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler's leadership. Gensler was known for his stringent regulatory stance on crypto companies, and the Helium lawsuit was seen as part of his broader crackdown. Helium co-founder and Nova Labs CEO Amir Haleem criticized the SEC's actions at the time, calling it "the last gasp of a failed crusade against crypto companies in the U.S."

The dismissal coincides with a change in SEC leadership. During the transition period following Gensler's departure, Acting Chair Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce moved to dismiss nearly all major crypto enforcement actions. They also issued statements exempting meme coins, crypto mining, and stablecoins from securities regulation. On April 10, Trump-appointed Paul Atkins officially succeeded Gensler as SEC Chair. Atkins, an advocate for free-market principle, co-chaired the crypto advocacy group Token Alliance from 2017 to 2024 and personally holds crypto assets, suggesting he may favor avoiding overregulation and supporting the crypto industry's growth.

As part of the settlement, Nova Labs agreed to pay a $200,000 "no admit/no deny" fine, a sum significantly lower than penalties in other crypto industry cases, such as the multimillion-dollar fines faced by Ripple or Kraken.

The dismissal of the Helium case is not only a victory for Helium itself but also sends a positive signal to the entire crypto industry. The decision indicates that selling hardware and distributing tokens for network growth does not automatically classify them as securities in the SEC's view. Helium stated in their official blog, "this landmark outcome is a pivotal turning point for the Helium community and the entire crypto industry, removing legal uncertainty for DePIN projects that use crypto incentives to build real-world infrastructure."

Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, the prices of Helium-related tokens HNT, IOT, and MOBILE experienced an uptick. According to Tradingview, the price of IOT surged by 17.81% within 24 hours, currently quoted at $0.00043; HNT saw a 9.14% increase, now quoted at $3.0003; and MOBILE rose by 5.56%, with a current price of $0.00038.