Sexual Misconduct Allegations Lead Founder of Ethereum Layer-2 Chain 'Eclipse' to Step Back

Neel Somani, the founder and CEO of Ethereum scaling company Eclipse, said on Thursday that he would be stepping back from his role as a "public face" for the company in response to a recent slate of sexual misconduct allegations.

"Serious allegations have been made against me on Twitter in the last week," Somani said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "These allegations are false, but serious allegations about sexual misconduct warrant a serious and thoughtful response."

"I'll be temporarily reducing my role as a public face for Eclipse," he wrote. "The senior leaders at Eclipse are well equipped to take on these responsibilities and this will allow these conversations to unfold and the truth to emerge about these allegations."

Somani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Somani told CoinDesk that no legal charges have been filed against him in connection with any sexual misconduct allegations.

Eclipse posted a separate statement to its official X account, saying it "remains committed to maintaining the highest personal and professional standards, including gender equality and fair treatment."

"The team takes allegations against our CEO, Neel Somani, seriously and believes in the importance of truth," the company wrote.

Eclipse is a layer-2 blockchain scaling project on Ethereum. In March, the firm disclosed that it raised $50 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Placeholder and Hack VC, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $65 million.

UPDATE (Oct 22, 2024, 19:00 UTC): Adds comment from spokesperson for Somani that no legal charges have been filed against him in connection with any sexual misconduct allegations.