Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin Sued Over "Seppuku" Clause in Staff Pledge

A former senior employee of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has sued the foundation, its leaders and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Kaylin Fulton, who led the EF's Protocol Support team, says she was fired after protesting a new document staff were asked to sign.

The case has been filed in a court in Colorado (case 1:26-cv-05818). Fulton is seeking damages and unpaid wages.

What the dispute is about

In February 2026, the EF sent staff a "Mandate" — a statement of the foundation's principles. One section, called the "Source Seppuku License", said authors and contributors should take their own life with a sword if they broke their promise to Ethereum.

According to the lawsuit, 79 employees voted to remove that section. One asked in writing whether signing meant a commitment to suicide. Another reminded leadership that a colleague had taken their own life a year earlier.

The EF kept the clause anyway. The final Mandate, published on March 13, presented it in a cartoon font next to an anime character and cats. The whole document was also recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. The foundation later said the clause was not meant literally.

The firing

Fulton and another employee organized a letter objecting to parts of the Mandate. She says both of them were fired afterwards. According to the complaint, Fulton had recently received a top performance rating and a 21.9% raise.

She still runs the All Core Developers meetings — the regular calls where Ethereum's upgrades are planned — now from outside the foundation.

Why it matters

The EF funds much of Ethereum's research and development. A public fight over how it treats staff could hurt its ability to hire and keep the people who build the network. The case does not affect how Ethereum itself works or the safety of anyone's ETH.