Former Ethereum Foundation Employee Sues Over Mandatory 'Source Seppuku' Pledge

Lawsuit Filed Against Ethereum Foundation

The Ethereum Foundation faces a lawsuit from a former employee, who alleges disability discrimination, retaliation, and unfair employment practices. The suit, reported by The Denver Post, centers on a controversial document distributed to the organization's approximately 250 employees earlier this year.

The 'Source Seppuku' Mandate

The core of the dispute is 'The Ethereum Foundation Mandate,' a 38-page document that included a section referred to as a 'Source Seppuku' pledge. This illustrated page, reproduced in court documents, asked employees working on Ethereum Foundation software to vow to "take his or her own life with a sword" if they failed to uphold pledges regarding the free and public accessibility of source code and documentation. The message was reinforced with a cartoon cat illustration.

Employee Resistance and Departure

Employees were given two options: agree to the mandate, including the 'Source Seppuku' pact, or request a settlement payment and leave the organization immediately. Initial resistance to the pledge was significant, with approximately 80 of 250 employees voting against it. Despite this, the pledge remained in the final version of the mandate, presented as an artwork rather than main text.

Foundation's Stance on the Pledge

The Ethereum Foundation reportedly argued that the suicide pledge was merely "part of the artwork of the mandate" after it was moved from the main text to an illustrated section. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has stated that the artwork was not intended to be a literal instruction.