- Nova Labs, the team behind Helium, has confirmed that the U.S. SEC has withdrawn its lawsuit against the company.
- The company is still required to pay $200,000 to resolve the SEC’s civil securities fraud accusation.
- This announcement paints a positive outlook, with HNT, IOT, and MOBILE experiencing over a 50% increase in the past week.
Nova Labs, the creators of Helium (HNT), have confirmed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed its lawsuit against the company, although it must still pay $200,000 to resolve the SEC’s civil securities fraud claims. This development signals a promising trend for all compatible Helium hotspots and the distribution of HNT, Helium IOT (IOT), and Helium Mobile (MOBILE) tokens, which have surged more than 50% over the last week.
Nova Labs reveals SEC settlement
On Friday, Nova Labs, the team responsible for Helium, announced that the U.S. SEC has dropped its case against the company just months after filing it.
The complaint filed in January claimed, “Nova Labs made unregistered offers and sales of securities when it sold electronic devices known as ‘Hotspots’ that mined Nova Labs’ crypto assets and ‘Discovery Mapping,’ a program allowing users to trade their personal data for Nova Labs’ crypto assets.”
“Moreover, the allegations stated that Nova Labs made materially false and misleading claims to potential investors about well-known companies like Lime, Nestlé, and Salesforce purportedly utilizing, or currently relying on, Nova Labs’ wireless network, even though those companies were not utilizing the network at all.”
With the dismissal, Helium mentions in a blog post that “we can now clearly state that all compatible Helium Hotspots and the distribution of HNT, IOT, and MOBILE tokens through the Helium Network do not qualify as securities.”
Despite this, the company is still obligated to pay $200,000 to settle the SEC’s civil securities fraud charge. This news reflects a favorable outlook for the Helium protocol, with HNT distribution soaring more than 50% over the last week, according to CoinGecko data. Additionally, this update signifies a potential shift in crypto regulation under the new SEC chair following Gary Gensler’s exit.
HNT protocols chart. Source: CoinGecko