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\n Kazakhstan, which accounts for the second-largest Bitcoin mining hash rate in the world, suffered a nationwide internet blackout earlier this week after soaring fuel prices triggered a wave of violent protests in the city of Almaty.<\/span><\/p>\n According to reports from local network data provider NetBlocks, Kazakhstan\u2019s normalized network connectivity fell to around 2% on Wednesday, which was likely the result of the government limiting \u201ccoverage of escalating anti-government protests\u201d relating to surging fuel prices.<\/span><\/p>\n Local media outlets also reported that the country\u2019s largest telecom company, Kazakhtelecom, shut down nationwide access to the internet. It was also reported that cellular networks were disabled in some cities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n GameStop Corp.\u2018s (GME) share price spiked around 26% in after-hours trading on Thursday following a glowing report from The Wall Street Journal concerning the organization\u2018s upcoming NFT division.<\/span><\/p>\n GameStop is rolling out an NFT marketplace later this year under the new division, which reportedly consists of 20 employees. The NFT unit will also be tasked with seeking partnerships in the crypto sector for future NFT game development.<\/span><\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal quoted the good old \u201cunnamed named sources close to the matter\u201d when reporting on the information, and stated that GameStop is close to securing deals with at least two crypto firms so far.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe author credited \u2018the people\u2019 as the only source I saw. This is anything but journalism,\u201d wrote Redditor u\/MrFlags69, commenting on the news in the r\/Superstonk subreddit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has laid out a proposal titled the \u201cMultidimensional EIP-1559\u201d in a potential bid to improve the current hefty gas fee structure of the network.<\/span><\/p>\n Buterin highlighted that different resources in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) have different gas usage demands, and that there are different limits for short-term \u201cburst\u201d capacity as opposed to \u201csustained\u201d capacity within the EVM.<\/span><\/p>\n The highly technical proposal basically boils down to multiple solutions that rely on \u201cmultidimensional\u201d pricing, which calculates gas costs differently depending on the demands for certain EVM resources.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe scheme we have today, where all resources are combined together into a single multidimensional resource (\u2019gas\u2019), does a poor job at handling these differences,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On-chain analytics provider Glassnode published a report on Monday that explored Bitcoin\u2019s supply metrics at the tail end of 2021 and the start of 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The report found that 76% of the total circulating supply of BTC has been moved to \u201cilliquid\u201d wallets that have no history of spending, suggesting that there has been a strong increase in BTC accumulation and hodling in recent months. Glassnode explained:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe can see [\u2026] that over the final months of 2021, even as prices corrected, there has been an acceleration of coins from Liquid, into Illiquid wallets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n South Korean tech giant Samsung unveiled an upcoming smart TV product line for 2022 that comes with nonfungible token support in the form of an integrated NFT platform app. The famous brand\u2019s new TVs, such as the MicroLED, Neo QLED and The Frame, will all feature the app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company is aiming to cash in on a new trend by introducing the first-ever smart TV NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator that will enable users to browse and trade NFTs from the comfort of their sofa. The firm is gradually becoming involved with crypto and is currently working on NFT and Metaverse integrations with its other devices and services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith demand for NFTs on the rise, the need for a solution to today\u2019s fragmented viewing and purchasing landscape has never been greater,\u201d Samsung said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Cosmos <\/span>(ATOM)<\/b> at 31.48%, Harmony <\/span>(ONE)<\/b> at 29.08% and Chainlink <\/span>(LINK)<\/b> at 28.51%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The top three altcoin losers of the week are SushiSwap <\/span>(SUSHI)<\/b> at -33.83%, Kadena <\/span>(KDA)<\/b> at -28.07% and Gala <\/span>(GALA)<\/b> at -25.47%. <\/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 \u201cI liked altcoins before altcoins were cool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Vitalik Buterin<\/b><\/a>, Ethereum co-founder<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an old Japanese proverb that goes, \u2018Beginning is easy, continuing is hard.\u2019 The journey to change the world has only just begun. Continue on, Bitcoin!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Marc Yaklofsky<\/b><\/a>, head of communications and public relations for Genesis Global Trading<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, every large financial institution I\u2019ve talked to, every large bank, every large investment bank, pension funds, they\u2019re all eyeing this sector.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)<\/b><\/a>, founder and CEO of FTX<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is widely reported that Bitcoin\u2019s market cap exceeds USD$1 Trillion. Today marks the 13th anniversary of the Bitcoin Genesis Block.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Melania Trump<\/b><\/a>, former U.S. First Lady<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to see a lot of movement in terms of doing authentication and insurance policies and real estate transfer taxes all online over the next few years, making NFTs a much bigger, more fluid market potentially than just Bitcoin alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kevin O\u2019Leary<\/b><\/a>, millionaire investor<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCryptos are tops among the risky and speculative. If risk assets decline, it helps the Fed\u2019s inflation fight. Becoming a global reserve asset, Bitcoin may be a primary beneficiary in that scenario.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mike McGlone<\/b><\/a>, commodity strategist at Bloomberg<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the best time to buy is when things go down, so when they go back up, you made a good profit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Eric Adams<\/b><\/a>, Mayor of New York City<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re busy turning your cash into future money \u2014 to the moon, apes!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Stephen Colbert<\/b><\/a>, host of <\/b>The Late Show<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n After trading sideways earlier in the week, Bitcoin\u2019s price took a nosedive on Wednesday, falling to $42,511, according to <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s BTC price index<\/span><\/a>. After more sideways trading action, BTC continued its descent on Thursday, tapping $41,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a recent tweet, Crypto Ed, a trader active on Twitter, noted the possibility that BTC\u2019s price could fall below its September 2021 depths, which sits at $39,668 based on Cointelegraph\u2019s index.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from BTC technical analysis, other factors that could negatively affect the price include the Bitcoin mining situation in Kazakhstan and the Federal Reserve\u2019s plan to unwind its stimulus program, according to former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Within a week of reminding the community that it accepts crypto donations, the Mozilla Foundation announced that it had stopped doing so following an onslaught of negative reactions from the anti-crypto section of its user base.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The pushback was due to environmental concerns that some hold over crypto mining, with Mozilla noting that it will only resume crypto donations if the sector aligns with its climate goals in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mozilla co-founder Jamie Zawinski, who is no longer associated with the project, was one of the people leading the charge against the open-source web browser provider, and absolutely slammed Mozilla and anyone working on it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters,\u201d Zawinski said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Decentralized crypto predictions platform Polymarket reached a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty over a failure to register with the U.S. enforcement body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Polymarket lets users bet on the outcomes of event markets via binary options contracts, which the CFTC defined as swaps that fall under its jurisdiction. The firm was given a reduced fine due to its \u201csubstantial cooperation\u201d with the CFTC and stated that it was \u201cexcited to move forward\u201d now that the issue had been settled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll derivatives markets must operate within the bounds of the law regardless of the technology used, and particularly including those in the so-called decentralized finance or \u2018DeFi\u2018 space,\u201d said CTFC\u2019s Acting Director of Enforcement Vincent McGonagle.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Solana blockchain reportedly suffered an incident on Tuesday that caused the network to slow and transactions to fail. The community was debating online whether it was the result of another distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack or simply network issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While multiple outlets reported that the network went down for around four hours in the early morning as a result of a DDoS, Solana Status showed that the network had been fully operational over that period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko also denied there had been a DDoS on this occasion, as he attributed the issues to the \u201cpain of getting a new runtime commercialized.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are three reasons why PlanB\u2019s prediction isn\u2019t accurate and why we can\u2019t expect Bitcoin\u2019s price to increase 10x after each halving.<\/span><\/p>\n 2021 may have been the year for fashion NFTs, but 2022 will require brands to launch NFTs with utility to move the idea forward.<\/p>\nTop Stories This Week<\/b><\/h2>\n\n
Top Bitcoin mining country Kazakhstan turns off internet amid protests<\/b><\/a>
<\/h4>\nGameStop shares jump 26% in after hours trade after NFT division unveiled<\/b><\/a>
<\/h4>\nVitalik proposes new \u2018multidimensional\u2019 Ethereum fee structure<\/b><\/a>
<\/h4>\nWait-and-see approach: 3\/4 of Bitcoin supply now illiquid<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
\n
Samsung announces NFT platform for smart TVs<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Digest_08-01_1-1024x682.png\")
<\/b><\/h2>\nWinners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/WL-JAN-2-8-22-01-1024x826.jpg\")
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (<\/span>BTC<\/span><\/a>) is at <\/span>$41,880<\/b>, Ether (<\/span>ETH<\/span><\/a>) at <\/span>$3,195<\/b> and <\/span>XRP<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>$0.76<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$1.97<\/b> trillion, <\/span>according<\/span><\/a> to CoinMarketCap.<\/span><\/p>\nMost Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Prediction of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Bitcoin may pass $30K September lows, trader warns<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n
FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Digest_08-01_2-1024x682.png\")
<\/p>\nMozilla backflips on accepting crypto after \u2018planet incinerating\u2019 backlash<\/a><\/b>
<\/h4>\nCrypto predictions platform Polymarket fined $1.4M by CFTC<\/b><\/a>
<\/h4>\nSolana hit with another network incident causing degraded performance<\/b><\/a>
<\/h4>\nBest Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Digest_08-01_3-1024x682.png\")
Three reasons why PlanB\u2019s stock-to-flow model is not reliable<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\nUnlocking utility is key for fashion brands launching NFTs in 2022<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n
Crypto City: Guide to Dubai<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n