U.S. SEC Sues Nova Labs for Securities Law Violations

JOON HYOUNG LEE

Summary

The SEC announced that it has sued Nova Labs for securities law violations.
This lawsuit is similar to the one with Ripple, highlighting the SEC's regulatory moves against the cryptocurrency industry.
There is a possibility of reviewing cryptocurrency lawsuits with the change of the SEC chairman under the Trump administration.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Nova Labs, the developer of Helium (HNT).

According to industry sources on the 19th, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Nova Labs on the 17th (local time) for allegedly selling unregistered securities. The SEC believes that Nova Labs violated securities laws by supporting Helium mining and the exchange of personal data for cryptocurrency.

This lawsuit is analyzed to be similar to the legal dispute the SEC is having with Ripple. Previously, the SEC sued Ripple in 2020 for securities law violations. Last year, a U.S. court ordered Ripple to pay a penalty of $125 million in the first trial, but the SEC appealed.

There is speculation that the dispute between the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry may soon be resolved. This is because, with the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the SEC chairman is expected to be replaced by former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins, who is considered 'pro-cryptocurrency.' Reuters recently reported that the Trump administration's second term might review existing SEC lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies shortly after taking office.

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