CLARITY Act Could End ‘Coin Flip’ Crypto Enforcement, Helium Legal Chief Says

CLARITY Would Treat HNT Rewards as Network Activity

Aberg said the CLARITY Act would have prevented the SEC from pursuing the digital asset theory underpinning its case.

Proposed Section 4B of the Securities Act, introduced by Section 102 of CLARITY, creates a presumption that certain gratuitous network-token distributions are not securities transactions. To qualify, distributions must be broad, equitable and non-discretionary, including those generated programmatically through network activity.

Helium’s HNT rewards fit that description, Aberg argued. The protocol automatically compensates hotspot operators for providing verified wireless coverage, transferring carrier data and contributing mapping information.

“HNT sits on the commodity side of that line,” she said, describing the distinction CLARITY draws between investment contracts overseen by the SEC and digital commodities used within functional networks.

The Helium Network has operated since 2021, while Nova Labs has never held a controlling share of HNT’s supply. According to Aberg, the token derives its value from measurable wireless services rather than a capital-raising transaction.

CLARITY would therefore make HNT’s treatment a matter of statute instead of forcing a company to establish its token’s status through litigation.

Regulatory Ambiguity Diverts Money From Infrastructure

Helium currently has approximately 140,000 independently operated hotspots and serves millions of daily users through carrier partnerships with T-Mobile and AT&T.

The Helium Foundation is also in early discussions with public housing authorities in New York and California, including the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino, regarding broadband pilots.

Aberg declined to identify any potential counterparty that had refused to deploy Helium because of regulatory uncertainty. She instead pointed to the resources Nova Labs spent defending claims that regulators ultimately abandoned.

Those resources could have supported new hotspot deployments, emergency communications systems and broadband access for underserved communities, she said.

“Public-sector partners move at the speed of their confidence in the rules,” Aberg added. “CLARITY accelerates that.”

Without legislation, a change in administration could again alter how regulators treat the same conduct. That uncertainty follows Nova Labs into discussions with carriers, public bodies and institutional investors.

“Regulatory ambiguity is not sustainable,” Aberg said. “It turns compliance into guesswork, it penalizes good actors and does nothing to deter bad ones.”

Smaller DePIN Startups Face the Greatest Risk

Aberg said CLARITY could have an even greater effect on smaller decentralized physical infrastructure, or DePIN, projects.

Nova Labs had sufficient resources to defend itself until the SEC dismissed its claims. Many early-stage companies, however, cannot survive a “bet-the-company enforcement action,” she said.

Aberg also supported legal protections for non-controlling developers under Section 604, provided they do not become blanket immunity. Developers who knowingly facilitate or profit from illegal conduct should remain liable.

While those taking reasonable precautions should not automatically face responsibility when third parties misuse their technology.

For smaller projects, the legislation’s central benefit would be knowing which regulator has jurisdiction and what requirements must be satisfied before launching.

“Our dismissal with prejudice of the digital asset claims resolved the question for us,” Aberg said. “A statute resolves it for everyone who comes next.”