Non-Fungible Token (NFT) entrepreneur Wylie Aronow of Yuga Labs, the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks, will be taking time out of the office to monitor a number of symptoms of heart failure.
In a January 28 Twitter post to his 144,900 followers, Aronow said the difficult decision to retire was due to a heart failure diagnosis after experiencing a myriad of symptoms in recent months.
Some big news: a few days ago my doctor told me that I had congestive heart failure. The symptoms started last year out of the blue and I stopped looking for help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after the test, my doctor called me and asked me to radically change my life.
— GordonGoner.eth (Wylie Aronow) (@GordonGoner) January 28, 2023
The NFT entrepreneur explained that while his “mild” symptoms still allow him to live a “mostly normal life,” his condition quickly accelerated to the point where he had no choice but to de-prioritize his work.
The Yuga Labs co-founder did not put a date on when he would expect to make a full recovery and return to daily tasks.
However, Aranow confirmed that he will remain as a board member and strategic adviser.
This is also not the first medical diagnosis that has left Aranow out of a job.
Aranow revealed that he dealt with a chronic illness in his twenties that prevented him from progressing in his career. So when he finally pulled himself together and co-founded Yuga Labs, there was no going back:
“When I recovered and we started Yuga, I didn’t want to waste a second chance at life. I pushed myself way beyond my limits. I worked 12 hours a day, almost every day. I should have taken the advice of everyone around me and found balance.”
“My goals now are to get the best medical treatment I can and get well,” he added.
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Aronow also expressed his excitement to soon be working alongside the company’s new CEO, Daniel Alegre, former president and COO of Activision Blizzard.
While Aronow did not provide any details on what he would do as a strategic advisor, Aronow recently announced on November 8 that he would propose a new model for NFT creator royalties.
Aronow co-founded Yuga Labs with Greg Solano in February 2021.
Notable NFTs developed by the company include CryptoPunks, BAYC, MeeBits, and Othersidemeta.
