Kayleen Fulton, a former Ethereum Foundation manager, has filed a lawsuit against the Foundation and co-founder Vitalik Buterin with respect to her termination.
Fulton claims in her complaint filed on November 4 in the federal court for Colorado that she was terminated since she organized employees against a requirement that contained a ritual-suicide pledge. She also makes a claim of disability discrimination after revealing to her employer her ovarian cancer diagnosis.
Who filed, and against whom
Fulton, also known as “Nixo”, was the chief of Protocol Support. There are six co-defendants in the lawsuit: Stiftung Ethereum (the Swiss Ethereum Foundation), Ethereum Asia Pacific Limited (a Singapore affiliate), the payroll companies Lightsource HR Global and Vensure Employer Services, Bastian Aue, and Buterin.
The lawsuit revolves around employment decisions of the Foundation and not the blockchain operations of Ethereum. The allegations have not yet been proven.
The mandate and its seppuku clause
The Foundation released a mandate on March 13 that contained provisions about censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security. It included a “Source Seppuku License” clause, which was illustrated by the Foundation as contributing software developers committing suicide with swords for their failure to keep the pledges made.
The employees protested the suicide clause prior to the publication of the mandate. The complaint claims that 79 employees voted in favor of taking the clause out of the February draft.
But the Foundation still retained the clause in the mandate. In a later clarification, Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue said that the clause should not be taken literally . However, the employees had no choice but to accept the mandate or resign.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum Foundation sued over “suicide pledge” firing
Cancer diagnosis, then dismissal
Fulton revealed her cancer diagnosis on March 24. She wrote a letter, together with Trent Van Epps, that expressed support for the Foundation’s direction but rejected the idea of being forced to comply with the mandate, particularly the suicide clause.
Fifty-three of her co-employees signed the letter. The 53 employees retained their positions in the company. However, Aue dismissed both Fulton and Van Epps on April 6.
Fulton claimed that her termination was a retaliation and that she experienced disability discrimination as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act and interference with her medical leave rights.
She also said that she did not sign the separation agreement voluntarily. She said that she is entitled to lost pay and other damages. Whether her illness played any role in her termination still remains to be resolved.
The recorded Buterin conversation
Fulton partially recorded a conversation with Buterin on May 1 in Norway. In her complaint , Fulton notes that Buterin questioned whether rewarding employees for “making a stink” would inadvertently set a precedent for other employees to deliver similar pressure.
Fulton referred to Buterin’s remark as evidence of retaliatory conduct by her employers. However, Buterin’s remark does not prove his and the Foundation’s liability.
A Foundation already losing people
By September, at least eight senior employees had left, the lawsuit says. Co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang took leave April 6 and resigned in June. A July board update listed four directors, including Buterin.
Cryptopolitan reported another concern: Van Epps estimates core-development teams need roughly $30 million annually as Foundation spending declines.
What it may mean for institutional confidence
Investor concerns predate the lawsuit. An August CoinShares survey tied Ether’s weaker growth outlook partly to Foundation leadership turnover. An EY survey found 81% of investors with spot crypto exposure preferred ETFs or similar products.
Farside data show U.S. spot Ether ETFs lost a net $365.2 million during November 2–6. Four days saw outflows, interrupted by $53 million in inflows on November 4. The figures do not establish any link to the lawsuit. Most flows occurred before or on the filing date, amid wider market uncertainty.
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