{"id":12491,"date":"2023-11-07T18:19:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T18:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/07\/attendees-at-hong-kongs-apefest-nft-event-suffer-extreme-eye-related-problems-artnet-news\/"},"modified":"2023-11-07T18:19:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T18:19:28","slug":"attendees-at-hong-kongs-apefest-nft-event-suffer-extreme-eye-related-problems-artnet-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/07\/attendees-at-hong-kongs-apefest-nft-event-suffer-extreme-eye-related-problems-artnet-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Attendees at Hong Kong\u2019s ApeFest NFT Event Suffer ‘Extreme’ Eye-Related Problems | Artnet News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Attendees of ApeFest 2023, a gathering for collectors of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, left the annual event with eye-related symptoms ranging from pain and burning to blurred vision that may be related to improper use of ultraviolet lighting.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s ApeFest ran from November 3\u20135 across locations in Hong Kong. Following an event on Saturday night, several attendees began posting on X (formerly Twitter) about problems affecting their eyes. There were accounts of \u201c<\/span>extreme pain<\/span><\/a>\u201d and not being able to \u201c<\/span>see normally<\/span><\/a>,\u201d with some users having to seek emergency medical attention. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One user, @crypto_birb, who \u201cwoke up with severe eye burn,\u201d <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> being diagnosed with photokeratitis, an eye condition caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays, essentially a sunburn of the cornea. \u201cPlease go get your eyes checked immediately,\u201d they wrote. \u201cWe\u2019ve most likely been exposed to experience similar to Mt Everest climbers\u2014snow blindness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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I woke up at 04:00 and couldn\u2019t see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital. <\/p>\n

The doctor told me the uv of the lightning of the stage did it. It has the same effect as sunlight. <\/p>\n

Still can not see normally..<\/p>\n

\u2014 Crypto June \ud83d\udc8e\ud83c\udfaf (@CryptoJune777) November 5, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Yuga Labs, the company behind ApeFest and the BAYC NFT collection, has <\/span>issued a statement<\/span><\/a> saying it is \u201cproactively reaching out to individuals\u2026to try and find the potential root causes\u201d of the issue. Most affected attendees have indicated an improvement, the company said, but it urged anyone with symptoms to get medical help.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The company said \u201cless than one percent of those attending and working the event had these symptoms,\u201d per its calculations. Yuga\u2019s spokesperson Emily Kitts said<\/span>\u00a0the company has been in direct contact with 15 people, in a statement to The Verge.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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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\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 6, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Yuga\u2019s response has not gone down well with ApeFest attendees. On X, they have accused the company of \u201c<\/span>downplaying<\/span><\/a>\u201d the issue and \u201c<\/span>mistreatment<\/span><\/a>\u201c; some noted the medical bills they had accrued from attending the festival.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy ape is not only the most expensive thing I own, it is one of the only things I own,\u201d <\/span>wrote @ahitposter<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI had my parents give me a loan so I could attend ApeFest, and now I am drowning in eye related medical bills I don\u2019t know how to pay.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>a statement to MarketWatch<\/span><\/a>, Yuga Labs declined to speculate on the cause of the symptoms until its investigation is complete. But that\u2019s not stopped its community from drawing theories, including from <\/span>a 2017 report<\/span><\/a> that guests at an event hosted by Hypebeast in Hong Kong experienced \u201cpainful burns and eye injuries.\u201d The similar symptoms were allegedly caused by UV lights, which had been mistakenly used in place of black lights and were installed by a third-party contractor. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The third edition of ApeFest was the first held outside New York, representing Yuga Labs\u2019s new bet on Asia, and reportedly drew some <\/span>2,500 attendees<\/span><\/a>. They partook in scavenger hunts, <\/span>nightly parties<\/span><\/a>, hangover brunches, and photo walks in <\/span>a city-wide event<\/span><\/a> that promised \u201cmeetups and mayhem.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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