SEC Ends Legal Battle with Another Crypto Company
Nova Labs, the team behind the Helium decentralized wireless network, has scored a decisive legal win after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its case accusing the company of offering unregistered securities.
The lawsuit, originally filed in early 2025 during the final days of Gary Gensler’s tenure as SEC Chair, was officially dismissed on April 10, according to a statement from Helium.
This dismissal, made “with prejudice,” ensures the SEC can’t pursue the same allegations again—specifically over Helium’s distribution of its native HNT token back in 2019. In a blog post, the company emphasized that this resolution confirms their network’s tokens—including HNT, IOT, and MOBILE—do not fall under the category of securities. Helium also argued that providing hardware and issuing tokens to incentivize network participation doesn’t violate federal securities laws.
The reversal came just as Paul Atkins, nominated by President Donald Trump, took over leadership of the SEC. The leadership change signals a broader shift in regulatory posture. Under Gensler, the SEC launched a flurry of enforcement actions against crypto projects, often targeting them for allegedly selling tokens that resembled investment contracts. Since Trump’s inauguration and Gensler’s exit in January, several high-profile cases have been dropped, with companies like Ripple, Uniswap, Kraken, and Coinbase seeing charges rolled back.
Helium, which allows individuals to contribute to a global wireless network by setting up physical hotspots, claims over 375,000 active nodes. Though its token once reached a market cap of over $5 billion in 2021, HNT currently stands at around $480 million, according to CoinGecko.
While Trump’s administration has embraced crypto more openly—pledging to make the U.S. a hub for digital assets and even proposing a national Bitcoin reserve—some within the industry remain cautious. His broader economic policies, including sweeping import tariffs, could still complicate the road ahead for crypto development.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at Coindoo
Alexander Zdravkov is passionate about questions of meaning. He is a fluent German speaker as well as He has been in the crypto space for more than three years and has an eye for spotting emerging trends in the world of digital currencies. Whether providing in-depth analysis or reporting on all topics on a daily basis, his deep understanding and enthusiasm for what he does makes him a valuable addition to the team.
