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Archive photo · 13 May 2023Kayleen Fulton Sues Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin Over Alleged Retaliatory Firing
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Fulton sues Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin in Colorado federal court for retaliation. Claims termination occurred within two weeks of cancer disclosure and opposing a mandate.
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Fulton sues over firing
Kayleen Fulton, known in the Ethereum community as “Nixo,” filed a lawsuit on Nov. 4 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against the Ethereum Foundation and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, along with Bastian Aue and four others.
Fulton alleges that Bastian Aue fired her on April 6, 13 days after she disclosed her ovarian cancer diagnosis, and the complaint says Aue fired Fulton and Trent Van Epps 30 minutes apart.
Fulton’s complaint ties the termination to an internal “Source Seppuku License” in the Ethereum Foundation’s mandate, which the filing says required employees to “take his or her own life with a sword” if they failed to uphold promises in the license.
Fulton also alleges disability discrimination, retaliation, and interference with her medical leave rights, and she seeks lost pay and damages.
The lawsuit names Ethereum Asia Pacific Limited and Stiftung Ethereum among the defendants, and it centers on employment decisions rather than Ethereum’s blockchain operations.
Mandate, votes, and ultimatum
The Ethereum Foundation published its mandate in March, and the mandate included provisions on censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security alongside the “Source Seppuku License.” Fulton’s allegations describe a draft circulating among employees on February 25, 2026, and the final mandate being officially released on March 13, 2026. Fulton’s complaint says 79 employees voted to remove the clause from the February draft, but the Foundation kept the clause in the mandate.
Fulton and Trent Van Epps organized a letter with 53 signers that backed the mandate’s goals while objecting to a requirement that employees affirm it to keep their jobs. Fulton’s suit also alleges that on March 20, 2026, Aue issued an ultimatum for everyone to commit to the mandate or consider themselves resigned by Monday.
Buterin’s comments and response
Fulton’s complaint includes a partial recording of a conversation with Buterin in Norway on May 1, 2026, and the filing says Buterin questioned whether rewarding employees for “making a ruckus” could set a precedent. Fulton alleges that Buterin’s comments show repressive conduct by her employers, while the complaint also says the Foundation’s counsel denied unlawful conduct and retaliation in a May 14 letter. The lawsuit also alleges that Fulton did not sign a separation agreement voluntarily, and it says she was offered a year’s salary under the agreement but never received any payment and later rescinded it.
The complaint acknowledges that management stated the term “seppuku” in the authorization was not meant literally, and it says Aue later clarified that the commitment had “nothing to do with literal seppuku.” As of the reporting, the allegations in the complaint had not yet been proven, and the Ethereum Foundation, Aue, and Buterin had not responded publicly.