SEC Investigates Nova Labs after alleging the company sold unregistered securities and misled investors with false partnership claims. The lawsuit marks another flashpoint in the agency’s broader crackdown on crypto firms under Chair Gary Gensler.
The SEC’s complaint centers on Nova Labs’ sale of Helium “Hotspot” miners and its “Discovery Mapping” program, which rewarded users with tokens for sharing data. Regulators argue these offerings qualify as securities and were marketed without proper registration. The agency further alleges that Nova Labs falsely claimed partnerships with companies including Nestlé, Lime, and Salesforce.
“Unregistered securities offerings deny investors the protections they are entitled to under federal law,” an SEC spokesperson said in a statement. “When combined with false claims about partnerships, such conduct poses a significant risk to the investing public.”
Nova Labs, which operates the decentralized Helium Network, has denied the allegations and vowed to contest the charges. In its defense, the company insists it has complied with all relevant laws and that the SEC is mischaracterizing its business model.
The case underscores intensifying regulatory scrutiny of digital asset projects. In recent years, the SEC has pursued similar actions against Ripple, Telegram, and other high-profile crypto firms. Each enforcement action adds to the evolving legal landscape for tokenized assets in the U.S.
If the charges stick, Nova Labs could face hefty fines, disgorgement of profits, and potential restrictions on future token sales. For investors, the outcome may serve as a litmus test for how aggressively regulators will police token-based business models going forward.
The lawsuit against Nova Labs is part of a broader trend: regulators are signaling that the era of loosely governed token sales may be closing. The decision could influence not only the future of the Helium Network but also the wider DeFi ecosystem, where questions of securities law compliance remain unresolved.