Many BAYC NFT Investors Face Eye Issues After Yuga Labs' Event
Several attendees of ApeFest over the past weekend reported eye problems such as burns and corneal inflammation, prompting them to seek medical help at hospitals.
NFT Users Hospitalized After Yuga Labs' Event
ApeFest, an event organized by Yuga Labs, the $4 billion startup behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and other prominent NFT projects, held in Hong Kong from November 3 to 5, 2023, has led to numerous attendees experiencing eye issues.
Initial information was posted by the account FELD, seeking others with similar eye symptoms after the event:
“Has anyone else experienced eye irritation since last night? Woke up at 3 a.m. with severe pain and had to go to the emergency room.”
Anyone else’s eyes burning from last night? Woke up at 3am with extreme pain and ended up in the ER.
— FΞLD | mrbayc.eth (@Feld4014) November 5, 2023
I saw a couple reports but just trying to figure out if there was a common thread.
Below the post, many BAYC community members who attended ApeFest described similar eye pain, with some experiencing even more severe symptoms:
POV: You bought an expensive JPEG and flight to Hong Kong to attend a festival and almost lose your eye sight.
— YallahHabibi 🌎 ☮️ (@YallahHabibiBTC) November 5, 2023
Yuga never disappoints. pic.twitter.com/Ob3Ry4OApW
Among those affected was crypto trader Adrian Zduńczyk, who shared his diagnosis attributing the issues to strong stage lighting and UV rays at the event, causing eye burns and corneal inflammation.
He thanked Yuga Labs for a great event but mentioned, "like dozens of others, I nearly lost my vision that night." He urged attendees with similar symptoms to seek medical help to avoid long-term vision damage.
In a recent update, Zduńczyk mentioned, "my eyes are nearly back to normal after 30 hours of painful burning sensation and 6 hours in the emergency room, with medical costs totaling HKD 3,000 (about USD 380)."
He clarified that the post was intended to inform, not to blame the organizers, but suggested a formal statement from Yuga Labs on what affected individuals should do, reflecting the "responsibility" expected from a major project.
[For information purposes only]
— Adrian Zduńczyk, CMT (@crypto_birb) November 6, 2023
So far, 30 hours since woke up with severe eye burn, I’ve visited emergency hospital and eye clinic and spent there a total of 6 hours.
Got diagnosed with “photokeratitis over both eyes, accident related” with prescribed steroid eye drops and eye… https://t.co/qZadVqsQFg pic.twitter.com/5EULptCR4H
After a few hours, Yuga Labs responded promptly, reaching out to the affected individuals to investigate the root cause. Following their investigation, they estimated that around 15 people, less than 1% of the 2,250 event attendees, experienced eye problems.
Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes. Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those…
— Bored Ape Yacht Club 🍌 (@BoredApeYC) November 6, 2023
Yuga Labs is currently facing significant downturns in the NFT market. The floor price of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs has dropped by 65% this year, from 69.49 ETH (USD 83,400) on January 1 to 24.4 ETH (USD 46,000) on October 20, 2023.
Floor Prices of Popular NFT Collections
Source: The Block
