Hong Kong, Nov. 8: More than 20 people have complained of eye irritation and vision problems after attending a party for NFT owners in Hong Kong last weekend, organizers said Tuesday.

The gathering was part of ApeFest, a three-day event organized by the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who have unique digital images of the primates worth thousands of dollars.

Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, is in contact with the 22 people who suffered eye problems after the event, company spokeswoman Louise Conroy said.

“We are deeply distressed by these reports,” Ms. Conroy said in an interview, adding that Yuga Labs was working with an independent firm to investigate the claims. “Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, we intend to do the right thing by our community members.” Although the exact cause of the symptoms has not yet been determined, he said, there were a few possible culprits: “At this point, we’re looking into fluorescent paint in one of our setup areas, and definitely looking into UV light. are doing.”

An estimated 2,500 crypto enthusiasts gathered at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on Saturday night for a night of drinks, music and mingling, which ended just after 11 p.m.

Adrian Zdunzik, a 30-year-old cryptocurrency trader living in Portugal, said he woke up at around 4:30 a.m. the next morning to an intense, burning sensation in his eyes and that the feeling would not go away no matter how many times he washed his eyes. Water. “It felt like you were microwaving your eyes,” he said Tuesday. Over the weekend, he saw social media posts from other people reporting nearly identical symptoms: severe eye pain, vision problems and skin irritation similar to sunburn. Another attendee, Chloe Gay, told The Financial Times that at 3 a.m. on Sunday she felt as if her eyes were “burning from the spicy peppers.”

Dr. Will Flannery, an ophthalmologist in Portland, Oregon, said the symptoms described on social media point to a “classic case” of photokeratitis, or damage to the cornea caused by ultraviolet light.

The condition is similar to “snow blindness,” he said, the eye damage skiers experience when exposed to UV light reflected from snow. The condition is serious, but usually resolves within 24 to 72 hours.

“This is unbearable pain,” he said. “It’s 10 out of 10 pain. But no, it will not make them blind.”

It is unclear where attendees may have been exposed to ultraviolet light. Images and video of the event show a stage with a DJ booth where neon purple lights were directed at the crowd. In another room, tubular lights on the ceiling shone on several decorative toilets, where attendees stopped to take photos.

Mr Zdunzik was diagnosed with photokeratitis at an eye clinic in Hong Kong on Monday. He was given lubricating eye drops and his symptoms have improved significantly, he said.

Nevertheless, he feels disappointed by the experience. He said he paid the equivalent of about $100,000 in cryptocurrency for the Bored Ape NFT and, with it, also gained membership in a prominent community of crypto enthusiasts. Although he has exchanged emails with Yuga Labs representatives regarding his issue, he feels that the company has not taken the situation seriously. He said, “It would have been better if this had not happened.”

Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most famous collections of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. Each member used the cryptocurrency to purchase one of 10,000 unique digital assets, which in this case are cartoon images of apes with accessories like cigars.

Bored Ape Yacht Club became widely known amid a digital artwork craze that gained popularity in 2021, thanks in part to celebrity endorsements. In January 2022, Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton showed off their Bored Ape NFT on “The Tonight Show.” “We’re both apes,” Mr. Fallon said, holding up a cartoon monkey wearing heart-shaped sunglasses. “I love it.”

The cryptocurrency and NFT market has cooled off significantly since then. The price of the least expensive bored apps fell to more than $50,000 in July, according to CoinDesk, an online publication that focuses on digital currencies. Just last year, the cheapest bored apps were selling for over $400,000. Both Mr. Fallon and Ms. Hilton were later named in a class-action lawsuit alleging that Yuga Labs had conspired with celebrities to defraud investors.

But the Bored Ape Yacht Club still tries to raise spirits among its members through its annual convention ApeFest. The first AppFest was held in New York in 2021; The second, also in New York, featured a performance by Lil Wayne.

This year AppFest was held in Hong Kong, competing for the attention of the international crypto community. Attendance was free for owners of the Bored Ape NFT, and $269 for plus-ones.

A website for the event promised “three days of meets and mayhem”, followed by “a big night full of surprises”.-Agencies