Ethereum Foundation sued over firing of cancer patient

Kayleen Fulton, also known as Nixo, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for Colorado on Nov. 4. She alleges the Ethereum Foundation (EF), a nonprofit supporting the Ethereum cryptocurrency platform, fired her and colleague Trent Van Epps on April 6, less than two weeks after Fulton emailed staff a letter challenging the pledge. The lawsuit says Fulton learned she had cancer on March 19 and disclosed the diagnosis to EF on March 24.

The disputed “Source Seppuku License” appeared in “The Ethereum Foundation Mandate,” distributed to employees on Feb. 25. It required software contributors to make source code publicly available and said they must take their own lives with a sword if they failed to honor the pledges or altered the license. After employees objected, including one who cited a colleague’s suicide in 2025, the board revised the mandate. The complaint says the final 38-page version, issued March 13, retained the clause but made it less prominent, using a Comic Sans-style font and illustrations of cartoon cats and an anime girl pointing a gun.

Employees were reportedly asked to confirm their commitment through an online form by March 25; failure to do so was treated as resignation. EF co-executive director Bastian Aue said the suicide reference was not meant literally, according to the complaint, but it remained in the document. Fulton and Van Epps helped draft a letter signed by several dozen employees. It said they agreed with the mandate’s general direction but could not endorse it as written. Fulton’s email said some workers had signed under pressure for fear of losing their jobs.

The complaint alleges Aue accepted the letter as a commitment to the mandate while acknowledging objections to its process and form. It says he fired Fulton and Van Epps without giving a reason, and that most other signatories had resigned or been dismissed by September. Fulton also alleges Aue said during her dismissal that a cancer patient could not provide the “exclusive and energetic focus” EF required. She claims violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act and Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, and seeks backpay, lost benefits, frontpay, punitive damages and compensation for emotional distress. EF’s mandate, including the license, remains on its website. The foundation did not immediately respond to Mashable’s request for comment.