Former Ethereum Foundation lead sues foundation and Vitalik Buterin over alleged wrongful termination

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Kayleen Fulton alleges she was fired after disclosing a cancer diagnosis and objecting to an internal staff document called the Ethereum Foundation Mandate

Mon 9 Nov 2026 · 11:20 EST · 3 min read

In Crypto

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The Ethereum Foundation is now a defendant in federal court, and so is its most famous co-founder.

Kayleen Fulton, who previously led the foundation’s Protocol Support team, has sued the organization, Vitalik Buterin, and Bastian Aue. She alleges she was wrongfully terminated after objecting to an internal staff pledge and disclosing a serious medical diagnosis.

What the lawsuit alleges

The complaint was filed on November 4, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of Colorado. It accuses the foundation of wrongful termination and discrimination.

Fulton’s claims also invoke two federal employment laws. The first is the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects workers with disabilities and serious health conditions. The second is the Family and Medical Leave Act, which governs job-protected leave for medical reasons.

According to the filing, Fulton disclosed her ovarian cancer diagnosis on March 24, 2026. She alleges that she and another organizer, Trent Van Epps, were dismissed roughly two weeks later.

The research places the termination date at April 6, 2026. Fulton had been earning $195,000 in the role.

The mandate at the center of the dispute

The second thread of the case involves a document called the “Ethereum Foundation Mandate.” Drafts reportedly began circulating among staff on February 25, 2026. The final version was published on March 13.

One section of the Mandate, referred to as the “Source Seppuku License,” is described in the research as demanding a vow of suicide from anyone who failed to meet its criteria. That provision reportedly triggered significant dissent among employees.

That is an extraordinary allegation, and it remains exactly that: an allegation in a civil complaint. The court has not ruled on any of it.

Fulton and 53 other staff members pushed back with a letter. The letter stated that the signatories had not resigned, a pointed clarification in a workplace where signing on to a mission document had apparently become a test of membership.

Fulton alleges that this resistance, combined with her medical disclosure, led directly to her firing.

The alleged sequence is compact: a contested document finalized in mid-March, a cancer diagnosis disclosed on March 24, and a termination on April 6.

Why the defendants list matters

Suing an organization over employment practices is routine. Naming Vitalik Buterin personally is not.

Bastian Aue is also named as a defendant. The complaint ties the alleged violations to the foundation’s leadership, not just its HR process.

Background: a foundation built on mission

The Ethereum Foundation occupies an unusual position. It is a nonprofit that supports the development of a network it does not formally control.

Teams like Protocol Support sit close to the core work of keeping that network running and coordinated. Losing the person who led that function is not a trivial staffing change.

What this means for Ethereum and its stakeholders

For the foundation, the immediate risk is reputational. The allegations involve a cancer diagnosis, a contested loyalty-style document, and a provision described as invoking suicide.

For the broader Ethereum community, the case raises governance questions that go beyond one employee. Who drafted the Mandate? How was it enforced? What happened to the other signatories of the dissent letter?

What to watch next: the foundation’s formal response to the complaint, any motion to dismiss individual defendants such as Buterin, and whether other signatories of the dissent letter come forward with their own accounts. The text of the Mandate itself, if it becomes part of the public record, will likely shape how the community judges the foundation’s conduct.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.