Eclipse crypto CEO to ‘reduce public role’ after sexual harassment allegations

  • Neel Somani denied sexual harassment allegations levelled against him 
  • Eclipse has also vowed to share background information on all senior leaders

As a crypto investor who has seen my fair share of scandals and controversies in the industry, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions upon hearing about the sexual harassment allegations against Neel Somani, the founder and CEO of Eclipse. On one hand, it’s disheartening to see yet another leader in the crypto space facing such accusations. On the other hand, I appreciate Eclipse’s proactive response to address the situation and share background information about its senior leaders.


As a crypto investor following the developments at Eclipse, I’ve learned that Neel Somani, the founder and CEO of the Ethereum [ETH] scaling solution, will momentarily step back from his public role in the company due to recent sexual harassment allegations. Regarding these accusations, Somani has stated:

“For a while, I’ll step back from my public representation role at Eclipse. The higher-ups there are capable of handling those duties now. This move will clear the way for open discussions regarding the accusations and ultimately reveal the truth.”

In his interview with The Block, Somani made it clear that he has not relinquished his role as CEO. He will, however, reduce his participation in podcasts and panel discussions.

Eclipse reacts to clear FUD

Eclipse is a versatile tool that utilizes the Solana Virtual Machine for enhanced scalability and development capabilities, but it allows developers to select their preferred Ethereum-compatible blockchain as the foundation for security.

Eclipse secured more than $65 million in Series A investment from esteemed venture capital firms, such as Fenbushi Capital and Delphi Digital. If the CEO faces accusations, this could potentially harm the partnerships between Eclipse and its investors, as well as the company as a whole.

An executive from crypto-fund Dragon Capital revealed that they declined to invest in Eclipse following the discovery of Somani’s past allegations of sexual harassment. This executive also advised certain Venture Capitalists against joining Eclipse during their background checks.

As an analyst, I recall during our initial evaluation of Eclipse, there were whispers about Neel Salami’s past involving allegations of sexual harassment. Given the gravity of such claims, we chose to steer clear of investing in that opportunity.

To quell growing criticism and negative fallout towards Eclipse from Version Control users, the company issued a public announcement detailing their plans moving forward. One portion of the statement read,

In the upcoming days, we’re excited to provide further information and insights into the senior leadership team at Eclipse. We are convinced that this talented group will propel us forward and help Eclipse achieve greater successes as a protocol.

As a crypto investor, I acknowledge the challenging decision made by Eclipse’s team. However, the real test lies ahead: managing public criticism and maintaining relationships with venture capitalists in the future.

Furthermore, it remains uncertain if the second layer mainnet rollout slated for Q2 2024 will be impacted in any way by the ongoing development process.

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2024-05-10 15:03