Vitalik Buterin Sued in Ethereum ‘Suicide Pledge' Row

Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation face a US federal lawsuit over the firing of a cancer patient. Kayleen Fulton says she was let go 13 days after disclosing ovarian cancer to leadership.

Her complaint ties the firing to a staff revolt against a mandate containing a suicide pledge. The defendants include the group that pays Ethereum’s core engineers and, per the filing, holds over 160,000 ETH.

Why Does the Lawsuit Say She Was Fired?

Fulton led the Foundation’s Protocol Support team and ran All Core Developers, the calls where engineers decide Ethereum upgrades.

In February, the board sent staff a vision document called the Mandate. One page carried a pledge to “take his or her own life with a sword” over any breach.

Seventy-nine employees voted to remove it. The board kept it. Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue then told staff to commit in writing or be treated as having resigned.

Fulton disclosed her diagnosis on March 24. A day later, she and colleague Trent Van Epps sent a letter, signed by 53 staff, declining to affirm under those terms.

On April 6, Aue fired both organizers 30 minutes apart without giving a reason, the complaint alleges. Icites a recorded conversation in which Buterin, asked about the firings, said this.

“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,” the complaint states

What Is the Foundation’s Defense, and What Is at Stake for ETH?

Aue told staff the pledge was “not meant to be taken literally,” according to the filing. In May, lawyers for the Foundation’s Singapore affiliate denied retaliation and said her severance deal requires arbitration in Singapore.

Fulton says she rescinded the deal and returned the money. She seeks back pay on a $195,000 salary plus punitive damages. None of the claims have been tested in court.

Foundation news has moved ETH before. ETH rose 5% when the board published the final Mandate in March, BeInCrypto reported. It fell almost 7% when the Foundation cut 20% of staff in June.

Those June cuts were already public. The lawsuit adds named allegations against Buterin and cites his recorded words.

It also says Fulton’s team was dismantled and most of the 53 letter signers have since left.

The next test is whether a Colorado judge keeps the case in a US court.