Former Ethereum Foundation Staffer Sues EF and Buterin Over Firing

A former Ethereum Foundation employee has taken the foundation, its Singapore affiliate, executive Bastian Aue and Vitalik Buterin to federal court, alleging she was fired in retaliation for organizing pushback against the foundation's "EF Mandate."

Kayleen Fulton, known as "Nixo," filed the complaint in the District of Colorado on Nov. 4. It says she was dismissed on April 6. At the center of the dispute is the mandate itself, published March 13, which codified the CROPS principles: censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security.

The "Source Seppuku" clause

Much of the filing turns on a section of the mandate called the "Source Seppuku License." It says employees would "take his or her own life with a sword" for failing to "uphold its solemn promise to Ethereum." Under the mandate, the complaint says, employees could affirm their commitment or leave.

The complaint also acknowledges that Aue said the reference was "not meant to be taken literally" and had "nothing to do with literal seppuku."

Retaliation and disability claims

Fulton and colleague Trent Van Epps organized a letter that endorsed the foundation's direction while objecting to some of the mandate's conditions. It drew 53 signatures. The complaint alleges both were fired because of that pushback.

Fulton further alleges disability discrimination and interference with medical leave rights, tied to a cancer diagnosis she says she had disclosed to the foundation.

The filing quotes a May 1 conversation with Buterin, which Fulton partially recorded in Norway, where one-party consent to recording is legal. In the complaint, Buterin is quoted as saying "if you reward making a stink with outcomes." The filing does not state whether Buterin knew he was being recorded.

Separation agreement

Fulton says the foundation offered her a year's salary under a separation agreement. She alleges she signed under duress, received no payments and later rescinded the agreement. She seeks unspecified damages and lost pay.

Neither Fulton nor the Ethereum Foundation responded to press requests for comment on the suit. The foundation's position is not on record, and the allegations remain unproven.

What it means

The case brings an internal governance document of a flagship crypto foundation, and the conduct of Ethereum's co-founder, before a federal court. The retaliation, disability and medical leave claims will be weighed on the evidence, including the partially recorded conversation, and on how the court treats the separation agreement Fulton says she rescinded.

The litigation is unrelated to Buterin's recent argument that ETH should be valued mainly as a store of value.