Nova Labs, the development company behind the Helium (HNT) blockchain, has agreed to pay the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) $200,000 to settle civil securities fraud charges the regulator filed against them in January, a court filing said yesterday (April 10).
In its complaint, the SEC accused Nova Labs of misleading prospective investors about several big-name enterprise customers, including Nestle, Salesforce and Lime. The SEC had accused Nova Labs of claiming that they were all using the Helium technology.
🚨BREAKING BIG: @helium has announced that the SEC’s lawsuit alleging unregistered securities sales has been dismissed with prejudice. Filed in January 2025, the case targeted the distribution of $HNT, MOBILE, and IOT tokens via Helium Hotspots. The dismissal confirms these… pic.twitter.com/VjnqqgSEOL
— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) April 10, 2025
Helium Developers Agree To $200k Settlement But Don’t Admit To Any Wrongdoing
Nova Labs agreed to pay the fine to settle accusations that it misled institutional investors during a funding round from late 2021 to early 2022. During this round, it raised $200 million in fresh capital at a $1 billion valuation.
The SEC accused Nova Labs of exaggerating the nature of its relationships with these three corporations in order to secure investments on more than one occasion. It allegedly touted them as customers and users of its blockchain technology.
According to the complaint, Nova Labs did have brief and limited contact with Lime, Salesforce and Nestle, however this communication mostly occurred prior to the launch of the Helium network in 2019.
The SEC complaint stated that Nestle’s entire relationship with the Helium developers came via a small-scale test of some of the company’s component hardware in its water-delivery business in 2018. This was before Nova Labs had even begun to pivot into the world of crypto.
Regarding the ‘relationship’ with electric scooter company Lime, the extent of that partnership was two in-person demonstrations of Nova Labs’ component hardware to an audience of just two Lime employees. According to the complaint, one of the two employees left the company shortly after the demonstration in early 2019.
DISCOVER: Top Solana Meme Coins to Buy in March 2025
The SEC complaint shows that both Nestle and Lime eventually sent Nova Labs cease-and-desist orders following their false partnership claims.
The complaint alleged that both firms threatened the development firm with legal action if it continued to use their trademarks and otherwise claimed to have an ongoing relationship with them.
As part of Nova Labs’ settlement agreement with the SEC, the regulator agreed to drop two other claims that the company violated federal securities laws, including through the sale of three of its tokens.
The SEC had previously accused the Helium Network Token (HNT), the Helium Mobile Network Token (MOBILE,) and the Helium IoT Network Token (IOT) of being securities.
Within the settlement agreement, the SEC has dropped those claims with prejudice, meaning the regulator is barred from bringing a future case with the same allegations.
In a Thursday blog post, Nova Labs celebrated the settlement, calling it a “major win for Helium and the People’s Network.” However, the blog post did not mention the $200,000 settlement or the claim that Nova Labs misled investors.
Today marks a major win for Helium and The People’s Network! The SEC has agreed to dismiss its unregistered securities claims with prejudice. Helium Hotspots and the distribution of HNT, MOBILE, and IOT through the Helium Network are not securities. It also means that the SEC… pic.twitter.com/vJSBAFht8T
— Helium🎈 (@helium) April 10, 2025
HNT Surges +10% On News Of SEC Dropping Its Complaint
Following the news that the SEC has dropped its complaint against Helium, its native token, HNT, has surged over 10% in response. Spiking to $2.9, HNT is up 10.3% in the past 24 hours as the Helium community celebrates its win against the regulators.
According to CoinGecko, HNT is the 129th largest digital asset by market cap, with a market cap of roughly $521 million. It has witnessed a spike in trading volume, with $13.8 million processed over the past day.
Just a few hours after the news about Helium broke, investment firm Grayscale announced that HNT has been added to its ‘Assets Under Consideration’ list for potential inclusion in future investment products.
These bullish catalysts are a much-needed shot-in-the-arm for Helium as it is down more than 94% from its all-time high price of $54.88 in November 2021.
Many within the community hope that without the SEC case hanging over the project, HNT can maintain this bullish uptrend with calls for $10 as short-term price targets.
HNT is the native token of the Helium Network, a decentralized network for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Helium is a DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure networks) project and HNT serves as a reward for those operating its ‘Hotspots’. These are mini-towers providing wireless coverage and are also used to generate “Data Credits” for sending data across the Helium network.
BONUS: Best Wallet (BEST) Shoots Past $11.6m In Presale Funding With Rumors Of Support For A New Chain Swirling
Best Wallet (BEST) is a new self-custodial wallet that allows users to store any cryptocurrency across 60+ blockchains while controlling their private keys.
Its native token, BEST, is still available via its presale and has just hit $11.6 million in funding. Buying BEST now is like securing stock in MetaMask if they had a token when they launched in 2016.
Its Web3 wallet app is available on both Apple and Google app stores. It boasts over 500,000 downloads and over 250,000 active users, which are growing daily.
This revolutionary wallet is packed with features that enable users to store, trade, stake, game, wager, and soon spend via an upcoming Best Debit Card that is compatible with Google and Apple Pay.
However, the feature causing most of the hype for Best Wallet is its ‘Upcoming Tokens’ platform. The BEST team works closely with some of the hottest presales on the market, giving its users exclusive access at phase 0 prices.
🚀 Best Wallet V2.6.1 Is Now Live! 🚀
You can now stake your purchased tokens directly in Upcoming Tokens—giving you more flexibility and control over your assets.
This update also brings bug fixes, improvements to Wallet Connect, and more! ⚡
Update your app now to access the… pic.twitter.com/WzNxEDbH0C
— Best Wallet (@BestWalletHQ) April 7, 2025
On April 7, the team announced a major update that allows users to stake purchased presale tokens directly via the app’s Upcoming Tokens page.
Talking of staking, investors can earn a juicy 133% APY by choosing to stake BEST, and with the V2.6.1 update, the team has just made it even easier to do so.
The update also includes security updates, improvements to Wallet Connect, and bug fixes. The last big update from the BEST team brought native Bitcoin support and there are new rumors that another huge chain will have native support added.
Check Out The Best Wallet Presale Today
EXPLORE: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025
Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates
Helium (HNT) has its SEC case dropped, agrees to $200,000 settlement
- Nova Labs, the firm behind Helium, were accused of misleading investors with fake Lime, Nestle and Salesforce partnerships
- Helium agree to a $200,000 fine as part of the settlement agreement
- HNT has spiked +10% on the news of the SEC dropping its case against Helium
- Best Wallet (BEST) has raised $11.6m in presale funding and just announced a huge wallet update allowing users to stake presale tokens directly within the app
Why you can trust 99Bitcoins
Established in 2013, 99Bitcoin’s team members have been crypto experts since Bitcoin’s Early days.
Weekly Research
100k+Monthly readers
Expert contributors
2000+Crypto Projects Reviewed
