The Ethereum Foundation is in trouble again.
On November 4, former employee Nixo filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court for the District of Colorado against the Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik, and others. She alleges that she was terminated by the Ethereum Foundation just thirteen days after informing management in writing of her cancer diagnosis and twelve days after helping organize a collective petition among foundation employees.
What pushed this issue into the spotlight was a "seppuku license" mentioned in the foundation's mission statement.
Mandate Declaration
This controversial document is called "The Ethereum Foundation Mandate." Here, Mandate can be understood as a mission statement, answering why the foundation exists, what it plans to do in the future, and which principles are non-negotiable.
The core of this document is not difficult to understand. Ethereum aims to uphold censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security, and the Foundation is tasked with helping these principles endure over the long term. It also clearly states that the Foundation is not Ethereum’s parent, owner, or ruler. Everyone is free to build whatever they want on this network without needing prior approval from any central authority.
The issue is on page 11.
The illustration includes a Source Seppuku License, which literally translates to "Source Code Seppuku License," linking the failure to honor, modify, or delete the license with the act of ending one's life with a sword. Beside it is a statement suggesting that if the foundation betrays its solemn commitment to Ethereum, it is willing to commit seppuku.
This is a joke from the Milady cultural circle. Milady, commonly known in Chinese as Miladi, is a set of anime-style avatar NFTs launched by Remilia in 2021. The community formed around these avatars is known for its penchant for satire, provocation, and opposition to moral censorship, with many members viewing it as a cultural identity expressing freedom of expression. Vitalik previously used a Milady avatar, so the presence of this aesthetic in the foundation’s documents carries this cultural context.
Management also clearly explained that the text regarding seppuku is an artistic and cultural reference and does not require literal fulfillment. The employee acknowledgment form was later specifically supplemented to confirm that it has no connection to actual seppuku.
However, some employees did not find this joke acceptable. According to the indictment, after the draft was circulated to Ethereum Foundation staff for feedback at the end of February, 79 people voted to remove the passage, with some mentioning they had lost a colleague to suicide the previous year. Vitalik had promised to revise the controversial content, yet the final version released on March 13 retained it.
For employees, the discussion shifted from "Is this meme appropriate?" to "Do our opinions even matter?"
On March 20, then Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue required all employees to declare their position by a deadline. There were only two options: commit to implementing the Mandate, or apply for severance and leave. Failure to submit a response was considered as choosing to leave.
Nixo was responsible for ecosystem protocol support and participated in coordinating discussions and upgrade processes among Ethereum core developers. She and her colleague Trent Van Epps drafted a joint letter that ultimately received 53 signatures, accounting for about half of the protocol team.
The content of this letter is critical. Employees support the overall direction of the Mandate and commit to continuing their work according to the principles of censorship resistance and personal autonomy, but they refuse to affirm this under pressure of losing their jobs, clearly stating that they will continue performing their duties without resigning.
On March 27, Aue initially accepted this expression, acknowledging the signatories' commitment to the mission and recognizing the need for improved handling. However, on April 6, the two organizing signatories were sequentially notified of their termination. Nixo had already disclosed in writing to management thirteen days prior that she had been diagnosed with cancer; she stated that during the termination call, Aue affirmed her work record but refused to explain the reason for her dismissal.
This is also the core of the lawsuit. Nixo’s allegations involve discrimination, retaliation, and rights to medical leave—far beyond “someone didn’t get the seppuku joke.” The complaint also notes that the lawyer for the Singapore entity of the foundation previously denied any wrongdoing, coercion, or retaliation, asserting that the separation agreement and arbitration clause are valid.
Miledi Community "Purification"
Why does Miledi's side support this document so strongly?
In the understanding of Miledi creator Charlotte Fang and others, crypto is first and foremost a movement to protect freedom. While code can make transactions harder to block, an industry can gradually accept cultural censorship, deciding who is eligible to participate based on whether speech is deemed appropriate or associations are considered suitable.
Remilia calls resistance to this change the “Cypherpunk Purification Spiral”. Cypherpunks can be simply understood as people who seek to use encryption to protect privacy and reduce dependence on centralized power. The term “purification” refers to continuously bringing encryption back to principles such as freedom of speech, market freedom, freedom of association, and freedom of information and thought. In this self-narrative, Milady assumes the role of cultural resistance.
So, offensiveness is precisely useful. Whether a person can tolerate avatars and jokes they dislike is seen by them as a test of their conception of freedom. Charlotte’s response to the controversy followed this line of thinking: he referred to Milady as a cultural weapon advancing crypto-punk values, and interpreted Vitalik’s use of it as a correction of internal organizational direction.
Miledi community core Bonkle described the requirement to sign the Mandate as an effective filter in his article on May 23. According to his standard, salary, personal relationships, and comfort cannot outweigh the mission of cryptographic freedom.
He also provided a further explanation: developers and funding long centered around the foundation inherently create a central point. When people leave the foundation to continue building in different organizations, it helps distribute this dependency. Therefore, he views personnel departures as an opportunity for decentralization. Leaving the foundation also enables building Ethereum elsewhere.
By the time this lawsuit sparked debate, Bonkle’s response became more forceful. He elevated the issue to a test of freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, questioning why personal disputes should be brought before state courts. In his narrative, Ethereum is preparing to resist future, more powerful government and technological authority, and organizations need people who can withstand conflict.
These statements reflect a clear stance within Miledei: they view this turmoil as a matter of strategic choice and welcome the resulting filtration.
Lawyer Gabriel Shapiro also believes it is normal for organizations to expect employees to align with their mission, and that "seppuku" is clearly not meant to be taken literally. He also criticized the plaintiffs for publicly releasing the phone recordings without Vitalik’s consent, suspecting that some employees had been gathering evidence for litigation from the very beginning. This is his assessment of the parties’ motivations.
Freedom?
Mildred's reminder about crypto culture makes sense. A censorship-resistant network must accommodate uncomfortable expressions; a system that only accepts mild speech and familiar viewpoints struggles to maintain openness under pressure. Ethereum's value cannot be measured solely by its coin price, revenue, or market share.
The foundation also has the right to choose its direction. It requires employees to pursue clearly defined goals and cannot engage in endless discussions over every decision. A willingness to invest in censorship-resistant and privacy technologies should be a basic requirement for joining such an organization.
But in this conflict, employees have already expressed support for these directions. The petition rejects the method of forcing public statements; Nixo also clearly stated that she cares more about the dismissal of nearly unanimous opinions than about the association with seppuku and Milady. Labeling all these individuals as lacking commitment actually ignores their true concerns.
According to the complaint, Vitalik later admitted in a conversation that employees should have been given several weeks to consider the matter; however, he expressed concern that if “making a big deal” actually worked, similar “disturbances” would only escalate. This was a management concern. But after accepting the employees’ jointly signed petition and affirming the shared direction, dismissing the two organizers who initiated the signature campaign—what message does that send to those who remain?
The mandate requires leaders to treat differences with respect, patiently explain difficult decisions, and acknowledge and clarify major mistakes. Employees' demand to have their voices taken seriously aligns with these commitments.
The foundation has the right to uphold the cypherpunk mission and the right to choose the Mademoiselle aesthetic, but it should not use adherence to a particular aesthetic or management style as proof of employees' commitment to freedom.
From the process presented in the indictment, requiring employees to demonstrate loyalty within a deadline and subsequently firing organizers of dissent undermines the values this declaration seeks to protect.
Ethereum needs people who dare to say no to external powers. The foundation also needs to allow employees to dare to say no to their leaders.
