Coming every Saturday, <\/i><\/b>Hodler\u2019s Digest<\/i><\/b><\/a> will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more \u2014 a week on Cointelegraph in one link.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The Bitcoin (<\/span>BTC<\/span><\/a>) network underwent its first major upgrade since 2017 after the Taproot soft fork went live following a 90% lock-in consensus from miners and mining pools between blocks 709,488 and 709,632.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Taproot will apparently improve the scripting capabilities and privacy of the Bitcoin network by enabling a concept known as Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree, which can enhance the efficiency of smart contracts without revealing private data behind the contract when making transactions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Prominent Bitcoin developer Hampus Sj\u00f6berg spoke to Cointelegraph and emphasized the importance of the upgrade, as he pointed out that Taproot shows Bitcoin can do network upgrades again.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Top NFT gaming firm Animoca Brands has penned a partnership with Cube Entertainment, a South Korean record label, talent agency and music production company, to build a \u201cK-pop music metaverse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The deal was announced on Monday and will see the duo work together to rollout NFTs dedicated to K-pop stars and popular actors under Cube\u2019s representation, such as BtoB, Pentagon, (G)I-DLE and Lightsum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Animoca said the partnership will enable \u201ctrue digital property rights and other blockchain benefits\u201d for the artists on Cube\u2019s roster as well as their fans. Cube CEO Ahn Woo-hyung said that the collaboration will be \u201can important beginning for leading the global digital culture market and advancing the digital content industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On Tuesday it was reported that Google searches for NFTs have spiked to record highs during the latter half of 2021. According to Google Trends, NFT searches broke into new highs during October, surging past the former peak of interest during the initial NFT boom at the start of 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Google\u2019s data also shows that \u201cNFT\u201d has overtaken many of the keywords that have long dominated crypto-related search traffic, including \u201cDeFi,\u201d \u201cEthereum\u201d and \u201cblockchain.\u201d While Dogecoin (DOGE<\/a>) previously captured the attention of the market during Q2, the data suggests that, as traffic declined for the memecoin in Q3, the interest shifted to the NFT sector.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of a geographic breakdown, NFT search traffic is dominated by Asian nations, with China, Uganda, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines topping the keyword\u2019s search rankings.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The rehabilitation plan to compensate creditors from the now-defunct Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox was finalized this week following confirmation from the Tokyo District Court.<\/span><\/p>\n Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014 due to a hack resulting in the loss of 850,000 BTC worth $460 million at the time. Creditors have been waiting for compensation for nearly a decade, and the rehabilitation plan was first put forward in the Japanese court system in 2018 on their behalf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to a Tuesday announcement from Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, the rehabilitation plan originally filed in the Tokyo District Court in February is now \u201cfinal and binding.\u201d While Kobayashi is yet to sort the specifics of the repayments, he reportedly has around 150,000 BTC hodl\u2019d to repay creditors.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Crypto.com (CRO) splurged $700 million on 20-year naming rights for the Staples Center, with the home of the NBA\u2019s Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers now officially known as Crypto.com Arena.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The deal was signed off by the arena\u2019s owner, AEG, a multinational sports and entertainment company that owns several facilities, as well as sports franchises such as the MLS\u2019s Los Angeles Galaxy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 20,000-seat stadium will feature the new branding for the first time on Christmas day, as the LA Lakers take on the Brooklyn Nets. Crypto.com has been on a bullish pump of late, with the price gaining more than 160% over the past 30 days to sit at $0.505671 at the time of writing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At the end of the week, Bitcoin (<\/span>BTC<\/span><\/a>) is at <\/span>$58,311<\/b>, Ether (<\/span>ETH<\/span><\/a>) at <\/span>$4,275<\/b> and <\/span>XRP<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>$1.10<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$2.59<\/b> trillion, <\/span>according<\/span><\/a> to CoinMarketCap.<\/span><\/p>\n Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are WAX <\/span>(WAXP)<\/b> at 64.82%, The Sandbox <\/span>(SAND)<\/b> at 64.59% and Crypto.com Coin <\/span>(CRO)<\/b> at 55.28%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The top three altcoin losers of the week are OMG Network <\/span>(OMG)<\/b> at -20.43%, Algorand <\/span>(ALGO)<\/b> at -18.24% and Zcash <\/span>(ZEC)<\/b> at -17.73%.<\/span><\/p>\n For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Cryptocurrencies] are growing very fast, and they\u2019re becoming integrated more into what I might call the traditional financial system. [\u2026] So the point at which they pose a risk is getting closer. I think regulators and legislators need to think very hard about that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sir Jon Cunliffe<\/b><\/a>, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank of England<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a bunch of people right now in Congress who are trying to pass laws on things they don\u2019t necessarily understand. And because of that, you see regulations that don\u2019t really make sense. [\u2026] Cryptocurrency should not be a partisan issue. It\u2019s too big for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Matt West<\/b><\/a>, U.S. democratic congressional candidate<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloping an effective policy framework for cryptocurrencies will only be possible if there is clear communication and collaboration between private and public actors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Susan Friedman<\/b><\/a>, head of public policy at Ripple<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel that being compliant will allow more users to use us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Changpeng Zhao<\/b><\/a>, CEO of Binance<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt will always be known as the Staples Center, no matter how many hundreds of millions of dollars Crypto.com paid for the naming rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bryan Kalbrosky<\/b><\/a>, reporter at USA Today<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are certainly stablecoin issuers who are violating the law. [\u2026] There are also regulated stablecoin issuers and there is also the possibility of creating more of a federal home for regulation of stablecoins. We don\u2019t have a legal gap there, I think \u2014 we just have an enforcement gap.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Peter Van Valkenburgh<\/b><\/a>, director of research at Coin Center<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs it is written today, however, the BIF would increase uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry, pick winners and losers, and thwart Internal Revenue Service (IRS) efforts to accurately tax cryptocurrencies, all while eroding our country\u2019s competitive edge against other countries on the digital asset marketplace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Letter<\/b><\/a> with signatures from multiple U.S. representatives regarding the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF)<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe maintain an extremely negative stance on cryptocurrencies as private currencies that claim to be money. But as people need alternatives, we should work on this with the help of our projects. We should develop the digital ruble as I have already said.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Elvira Nabiullina<\/b><\/a>, governor of the Central Bank of Russia<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Bitcoin has suffered significant downward price action recently, dropping from around $66,300 down to roughly $55,700 inside the week, based on <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s BTC price index<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cointelegraph\u2019s Marcel Pechman looked at a variety of data to see how market players are acting. Pechman observed that Bitcoin futures data revealed only a moderate level of confidence in the digital currency as of Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In his view, options data for BTC points to a neutral outlook on the digital asset. Additionally, Pechman included a chart indicating Bitcoin\u2019s price traveling inside an ascending channel \u2014 a type of upward-slanting range.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The controversial $1 trillion infrastructure bill was signed off by President Joe Biden on Monday, with the legislation aimed at funding major infrastructure projects across the U.S., among several other spending initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Crypto proponents have had the pitchforks ready ever since the bill was announced months ago, as it imposes tighter rules on crypto businesses and reporting requirements for brokers. The bill also mandates that crypto transactions larger than $10,000 are to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor too long, we\u2019ve talked about having the best economy in the world. [\u2026] Today, we\u2019re finally getting this done,\u201d said the U.S. president, adding that this bill will somehow make the citizens\u2019 lives \u201cchange for the better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Miramax filed a complaint against iconic film director Quentin Tarantino on Tuesday after the 58-year-old went rogue and announced his own NFT drop depicting content from Pulp Fiction<\/em>, his blockbuster film from 1994.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tarantino said the NFT sale would go live next month, but it appears that Miramax took umbrage at not being offered the chance to skim some extra royalties off the film it produced. Miramax accused Tarantino\u2019s team of going after a \u201cshort-term money grab\u201d despite the company having plans to do the same thing itself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis group chose to recklessly, greedily, and intentionally disregard the agreement that Quentin signed instead of following the clear legal and ethical approach of simply communicating with Miramax about his proposed ideas,\u201d Miramax said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed that the firm lost 3% of its user base after it made Know Your Customer processes mandatory \u201cfor global users, for every feature\u201d in a bid to attract new traders as a regulatory-compliant business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Zhao made the comments during an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, noting that his firm\u2019s shift towards compliance is starting to woo regulators as opposed to forcing them to release the hounds, suggesting that he is not feeling the FUD whatsoever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen people see me in person, they say, \u2018Look, CZ is very reasonable, very calm, not a crazy guy.\u2019 So that helps establish their trust much faster,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Venture capital cannot just stick to its existing structures and processes if it wants to remain relevant in the new Web 3.0 era.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the limitations of his office, the mayor-elect of New York could leverage his agenda-setting power to the benefit of both crypto and city residents.<\/span><\/p>\nTop Stories This Week<\/b><\/h2>\n
Animoca Brands unveils plans for K-pop NFT metaverse<\/b><\/a>
Google searches for NFTs spike to record highs<\/b><\/a>
Staples Center in Los Angeles will be renamed Crypto.com Arena<\/b><\/a>
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<\/h4>\nWinners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/h4>\nMost Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Prediction of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Bitcoin has stalled, but here\u2019s why pro traders still expect $80K by January<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/h4>\nBest Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/h4>\nAdapt or die: Venture capital vs. crypto, blockchain, DAOs and Web 3.0<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
What can Eric Adams do? The limits of turning New York City into a crypto hub<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
Meet Dmitry: Co-founder of Ethereum\u2019s creator Vitalik Buterin<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n