Helium founder Amir Haleem has stepped down as chief executive of Nova Labs after HNT’s price suffered a steep multi-year decline and the company sold its consumer mobile business.
Summary
- Amir Haleem has stepped down as Nova Labs CEO and moved into the chairman role.
- Mario Di Dio has taken over as CEO of Nova Labs after Haleem’s exit.
- HNT has fallen 96% over five years, according to market data cited in the report.
According to Haleem’s announcement on X, Mario Di Dio has taken over as CEO of Nova Labs, while Haleem has moved into the chairman role. The leadership change came as HNT remained under heavy pressure, with the token down 96% over five years and another 15% on the day of Haleem’s exit, according to the market data cited in the report.
Helium mobile sale fails to lift HNT
Nova Labs completed the sale of Helium Mobile to Noble Mobile on June 2, 2026, according to the company update cited in the report. The sale came two days before Haleem announced his resignation as CEO.
Helium Mobile had become one of the project’s more visible consumer products after Nova Labs tried to connect crypto incentives with low-cost cellphone service. Still, the HNT token did not recover after the sale. According to the report, HNT stayed down 30% over the week and 46% over the month.
At the same time, Helium’s other tokens also remained far below earlier levels. MOBILE has fallen 76% over five years, while IOT has dropped 87%, according to the price figures cited in the report. Nova Labs issued the tokens to reward operators of Helium-linked networking devices.
Haleem says he still holds HNT
In his departure message, Haleem said he still holds HNT, according to the report. His statement came after years of public comments in which he promoted the long-term case for Helium and its token-backed network model.
Some users on X described his move to chairman as a deserved break after a long run, according to the report. Others focused on HNT’s price history and the timing of his exit, especially after the company sold Helium Mobile without a recovery in the token.
The leadership handover also closed a major chapter for Nova Labs. Haleem spent more than a decade building Helium’s wireless network concept, which used crypto rewards to encourage people to run hardware devices that supported the system.
Nova Labs leaves behind years of controversy
Helium raised nearly $365 million over its lifetime, with FTX listed among its backers, according to the report. In 2022, the company faced criticism after it advertised Lime, Salesforce, and Nestlé as network users, although those companies were not using the network.
A Forbes investigation later reported that insiders mined close to half of all HNT during the token’s early months. The SEC sued Nova Labs in January 2025 under then-chair Gary Gensler, accusing the company of making materially false and misleading statements about users, including Lime, Nestlé, and Salesforce.
After Paul Atkins took over the SEC under President Donald Trump, Nova Labs settled the case in April 2025. According to the report, Nova Labs paid a $200,000 civil penalty tied to one misrepresentation charge, while the SEC dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice.
