Helium (HNT)
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 58 → 46. Problems weighed by who is responsible: the subject's own conduct −30, concerns that are not fraud −6.4, problems around the subject, caused by others −2.2; legitimacy credit long-running +10. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| The subject's own conduct | -30 |
| Concerns that are not fraud | -6.4 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -2.2 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 36 |
Score: 46/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Helium is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) founded in 2013 by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey, operated by Nova Labs, Inc. The network incentivizes individuals to deploy wireless hotspots for IoT (LoRaWAN) and mobile coverage using its HNT token, which migrated to the Solana blockchain in April 2023. The project has a documented history of misrepresenting partner relationships to investors, resulting in a $200,000 SEC civil settlement in April 2025, but has demonstrated meaningful real-world usage growth through verified carrier data-offload partnerships with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Telefonica.
Connected Entities
3 entities · 60 linked investigations- Helium (HNT)→mentioned with→Solana(80%)
- Helium Mobile→mentioned with→Solana(60%)
- Helium (HNT)→mentioned with→Helium Mobile(80%)
- Helium Mobile→mentioned with→Helium (HNT)(80%)
Connected Through
3 shared actors · 358 investigationsDistinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.
- □Solanaorganization
- □Helium (HNT)organization
- □Helium Mobileorganizationalso in
Timeline(13 events)
June 2013
Helium, Inc. incorporated by Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carey.
Wikipedia / Contrary Research2017
Company pivots from conventional payment model to cryptocurrency-incentive model for hotspot operators.
WikipediaJune 2019
HNT token launched on proprietary Helium L1 blockchain; hotspot mining begins.
Helium Documentation12 November 2021
HNT reaches all-time high price of approximately $54–55, driven by speculative mining demand.
CoinMarketCap31 March 2022
Helium, Inc. rebrands to Nova Labs; announces $200 million Series D led by Tiger Global and a16z at $1.2 billion valuation.
Decrypt29 July 2022
Mashable and The Verge report that Lime and Salesforce deny active partnerships with Helium despite being listed as partners on the company website.
The BlockAugust 2022
CEO Amir Haleem publicly responds, both logos removed from website; Nova Labs pledges written-approval-only partnership listings going forward.
Decrypt27 September 2022
Fortune reports Helium generated approximately $1,150 in IoT data revenue over 30 days, raising fundamental questions about network utility versus valuation.
Fortune18 April 2023
Helium Network fully migrates from proprietary L1 blockchain to Solana following community approval of HIP-70.
CoinDesk18 June 2024
Helium launches carrier data-offload program; AT&T, T-Mobile, Movistar, Google Orion, and WefiI subscribers begin offloading data to Helium hotspots.
Helium Mobile Carrier Offload FAQ17 January 2025
SEC files civil complaint against Nova Labs alleging investor misrepresentation (Nestle, Lime, Salesforce partnership claims) and unregistered securities sales of HNT, IOT, and MOBILE tokens.
SEC Enforcement Litigation Release / CoinDesk2025
HIP-138 adopted, consolidating tokenomics to a single HNT reward token and eliminating separate IOT/MOBILE emission streams.
Helium Blog10 April 2025
SEC and Nova Labs reach settlement: Nova Labs pays $200,000 civil penalty without admitting wrongdoing; SEC dismisses unregistered-securities claims against HNT, IOT, and MOBILE with prejudice.
CoinDesk / The DefiantDecision Log
- slot 455370122 · hash 3XoW73GkZX5gupCmdQMiYXP8nTxxBy5XcZsFzEXKW7Bs
- slot 445507245 · hash 6nsbRCPbH3uwVr6LFRk7sdTVDx94afT3XyPMWmjUFLKf
- slot 423639872 · hash 757BNqYsiHbEmTNJseuiGeWCxakkYjxKZBVC1rMEn3jn
- slot 423639869 · hash 95q5SLLq4HUUmixA7S4j76MzecdH5P5Yx2aYvkwtWeqx
- slot 423596945 · hash Hy5sg1d8JgXwQBmiWZw8XzKspRPiWW2FCmezu4CE7MTg
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (5 decisions). 16 of 19 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/1/2026, 1:01:00 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:50:03 PM
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