As it turns out, NFTs are an affront to the eyes in more ways than one.


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For some background, remember NFTs? If you don’t, there was a weird few months where people looked at a picture of a lion with sepsis and thought, “Yeah, I’ll pay a quarter of a million dollars for that.”


Today, most NFTs are basically worthless (who could have expected that?). However, a few of the people who poured their money into these JPEGs aren’t quite ready to give up on the blockchain-backed dream.


These loyal followers recently attended a conference in Hong Kong to celebrate their love of the “Bored Ape Yacht Club” NFT series. They promptly had their eyes destroyed.




In tweets following the event, one of the attendees claimed they “almost lost sight.” Another alleged they had “so much pain in my eyes that I had to go to the hospital.”


As for what caused this incredible eye pain, no one is quite sure, but many are claiming the festival skimped on lighting and opted for cheap, unprotected UV lights.



This has happened before. As noted by CoinTelegraph, “On Oct. 20, 2017, a number of attendees at a party thrown by streetwear brand HypeBeast reported painful burns and eye damage.”


In terms of the Bored Ape event, “It was revealed by the event’s DJ on Oct. 26 that the contractor tasked with setting up lighting at the party had used a series of Philips TUV 30W G30 T8 light bulbs, which, according to Philips’ website, emit 12 watts of UV-C radiation, mainly used for disinfecting surfaces,” wrote Tom Mitchelhill for CoinTelegraph.




Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, has since apologized for the incident. Speaking to CoinTelegraph, Yuga Labs stated, “We are actively reaching out to and are in touch with those affected. We’re also pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to learn the root cause.”



“Based on our estimates, the 15 people we’ve been in direct communication with so far represent less than one percent of the approximately 2,250 event attendees and staff at our Saturday night event,” they added.


Still, it’s probably best to avoid any NFT conferences in the future. There may be danger for more than your wallet.