US SEC sues Helium developers, names 'these 3 tokens' as unregistered securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs, the developer of Helium Network (HNT), accusing them of selling unregistered securities and misleading investors. This is the last enforcement action by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler before stepping down, targeting the cryptocurrency industry.

The lawsuit filed by the US SEC last Friday directly targeted three tokens related to the Helium Network: Helium Network Token (HNT), Helium Mobile Token (MOBILE), and Helium IoT Network Token (IoT), accusing these tokens of being 'unregistered securities'.

In addition, the SEC also accused Nova Labs of exaggerating its cooperation with well-known enterprises and deliberately misleading investors.

Exaggerated cooperation relationship becomes controversial

The US SEC stated that Nova Labs had claimed to investors that 'major companies such as Nestlé, Lime, and Salesforce are using the Helium Network', but in reality, none of these companies are Nova Labs' clients and have never used the network. The lawsuit documents mention:

When Nestlé and Lime learned that Nova Labs claimed to have a cooperative relationship with them, both companies separately issued cease and desist letters to Nova Labs.

Earlier, in response to media reports that Lime and Salesforce did not use the Helium Network, Helium founder Amir Haleem sought to downplay the related doubts. He said:

We had obtained approval for the use case discussion of certain brands at that time, but in the future, we will more strictly manage the brand LOGO usage review process to avoid confusion.

However, the litigation revealed that senior management at Nova Labs was not unaware of the exaggeration of the partnership. An internal email showed that in response to the stop notice from Nestlé, the Vice President of Business Development at Nova Labs told the team, 'I never thought we could hold on for so long before being discovered.' Regarding Lime, the Chief Operating Officer of Nova Labs even said to the CEO, 'Their PR department has been completely cut, and no one will question us.'

The lawsuit seeks to fine Nova Labs and prohibit the company from purchasing, offering, or selling any encryption assets offered as securities.

Founder's firm response: Vowing to defend the Crypto Assets industry

Helium founder Amir Haleem responded strongly on Sunday through the community platform X, describing the lawsuit as the 'final blow' launched by the SEC against the cryptocurrency industry, and vowing to fight back with full force. He pointed out:

The SEC has wasted two years of our time and millions of dollars just to piece together some baseless allegations... I rarely get angry, but this time I am really furious.

In response to the allegations of misleading investors, he said, "We have already dealt with these issues and have communicated with every company mentioned in the lawsuit."

Amir Haleem further emphasized, 'We will vigorously defend and continue to witness the SEC led by Gensler repeatedly lying and repeatedly failing', 'Not only for us, but also for all DePIN projects. If Helium Hotspots are considered securities, then all DePINs will be at risk. We will not allow this to happen'.

With Gary Gensler about to step down and Trump preparing to return to the White House, the outcome of the SEC's 'final battle' against the cryptocurrency industry will undoubtedly be the focus of attention from all sectors.

The article 'The US SEC sues Helium developers, naming 'these 3 tokens' as unregistered securities' was first published in 'Block Ke'.