A former Ethereum Foundation (EF) employee has sued the organization over what she describes as a wrongful termination, naming Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and EF executive director Bastian Aue as co-defendants in the case. The suit places standard U.S. employment-law protections — covering disability, medical leave, and termination — at the center of the nonprofit at the heart of the Ethereum ecosystem.

Kayleen Fulton, known within the Ethereum community as Nixo, says she was fired by the Foundation in April for organizing an objection to part of the EF Mandate. Before her dismissal, Fulton led the EF Protocol Support Team and says she had received an excellent appraisal from her supervisor seven months earlier.

Fulton is also alleging disability discrimination and interference with her medical leave rights. According to the complaint, she was dismissed 13 days after informing management of a cancer diagnosis and her plans to begin treatment. She is seeking damages and unpaid wages, and the suit was filed in the U.S. state of Colorado under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a U.S. federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability, a category that can include serious medical conditions such as cancer. Because this is the opening filing in the case, the allegations now await a response from the defendants in subsequent court documents.

Mandate Included a Seppuku Pledge, Lawsuit Says

The revised Mandate redefined Ethereum's focus around a set of principles known as CROP — censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security. One section of the document, however, sits at the center of the dispute.

According to the court filing, a "Source Seppuku License" section in the Mandate led to Fulton's termination. The section states that employees would take their own lives with a sword if they failed to uphold their promise to Ethereum — a reference to seppuku, the historical Japanese ritual suicide associated with the samurai class.

Fulton claims the clause raised concerns and pushback among employees during the draft stage, but the Ethereum Foundation refused to change it. The lawsuit notes that the final version of the Mandate, published on March 13, retained the suicide pledge, with the only changes being the use of a cartoon font, cartoon cats, and a winking anime finger.

The complaint adds that Aue issued an ultimatum on Friday, March 20, 2026, telling staff to commit to the Mandate or consider themselves resigned by Monday. Fulton and another EF employee, Trent Van Epps, then organized a letter supporting the Mandate while opposing some of its conditions. The letter was ultimately signed by 53 employees, according to the filing.

While the lawsuit acknowledges that Aue said the pledge was not to be taken literally, it states that the EF director fired Fulton and Van Epps a few days after they organized the objection. Fulton also claims she was made to sign release documents under duress. As a public court record, the complaint also offers a rare, detailed window into internal decision-making at the Foundation.

Buterin Cited Over Comments After the Dismissal

Buterin is drawn into the lawsuit over comments he made after the dismissal. According to the complaint, Buterin explained the rationale behind the termination as a deterrent. In a telephone conversation recorded by Fulton, he stated that the core question concerned what the Ethereum Foundation incentivized.

He is quoted as saying: "If you reward making a stink with outcomes, then everyone will know that essentially making that kind of a show both internally and externally is the way to cause outcomes inside of the EF."

Foundation Turmoil and ETH Price Decline

The lawsuit highlights internal controversies and disputes within the Ethereum Foundation, which has seen several senior members leave this year.

While the turmoil has not significantly affected the Foundation's development work, the price of ETH has suffered. The asset is now trading closer to $2,100 after falling 15% over the last 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap, and stands 28% below its price at the start of the year after shedding most of its earlier gains.

Buterin, however, has appeared unbothered by the price performance, recently posting that people should view the asset as a store of value. He argued that the fixation on token burns as the source of Ethereum's value is unnecessary because ETH's value comes from its stability as a decentralized, secure network.