A former Ethereum Foundation employee has sued the foundation, alleging she was fired after opposing a “suicide pledge,” Protos reported. The plaintiff is Kayleen Fulton, the foundation’s former Protocol Support lead. The suit names Stiftung Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin and others, and alleges retaliation, including after she disclosed a health condition and organized opposition. These are the plaintiff’s allegations, and Protos said the foundation had not responded to its request for comment at the time of publication.
The dispute centers on a “Source Seppuku License” in a draft mandate distributed to employees in February 2026. It says the author, maintainer, editor or redistributor must “take his or her own life with a sword” upon failing the license’s pledges. Fulton claims 79 employees voted to remove the section and that Buterin promised “significant changes,” but the published version kept the license and the foundation recorded it permanently on Ethereum.
The complaint alleges EF Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue insisted every employee commit to the mandate or be assumed to have resigned. Fulton and colleague Trent Van Epps then sent the board a letter, signed by 53 members of the “Protocol cluster,” saying they “declined to affirm [the Mandate] under coercion” but had not resigned. Fulton was then fired, the suit says. It also alleges Buterin asked “what kind of dynamics you want to reward inside of the EF.”
The case is at an early stage, and no court has ruled on the claims.
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