BELLEVUE, WA - Domain name registrar and registry services provider Identity Digital has announced they will be releasing – for first-time availability – over 20,000 short premium domains at NamesCon Global 2024, including hundreds of .vote domains just in time for election season, as well as more than 1,000 one and two-character .info domains. Identity Digital noted that the launch of the Early Access Phase (EAP) for these premium domains is slated to take place … [Read more...]
My.box Inc. Announces Groundbreaking “Future of Digital ID” With “.Box” Domain
CAYMAN ISLANDS - My.box Inc. has announced what they referred to as the groundbreaking “future of digital identity” in the domain name industry: the impending launch of their new “.box” domain, which they tout as the first-ever blockchain native, DNS-routable domain supported by browsers, email, and digital wallets. According to a statement released by My.box Inc. Founder Josh Brandley, the .box domain enables users to integrate multiple aspects of their online identities … [Read more...]
Q3 Domain Report: Slight “.COM” Reg Decline, New GTLDs Enjoy 10% Increase
RESTON, VA - Verisign, the company that is the authoritative registry for the .com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains (TLDs) and the .cc country-code top-level domain, released their 3rd quarter 2023 Domain Name Industry Brief (DNIB) this week that reveals by the end of the latest quarter, total domain registrations across all TLDs worldwide have reached 359.3 million. That number represents a 2.4 percent increase year over year, amounting to an … [Read more...]
Casino gTLD Domain Owners Continue to Cash In As “Betting.online” Sold at $400,000
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - As verified by domain registry operator Radix, Casino.online, a casino review website, has announced they have purchased the “betting.online” domain for the price of $400,000. The price is record-setting for domain transactions within the generic top-level domains (gTLDs) category and currently ranks as the joint fifth-highest domain sale across all top-level domains (TLDs) for 2023. Casino.online’s CEO, Patrick Gerhard, issued a statement … [Read more...]
Early Access to Google’s New Domain Will Require Overwhelm “.ing” Investment
Later this month, Google will be launching a new top level domain name that is sure to attract attention. Known as a “domain hack,” the new “.ing” domain name can be used to spell out clever takes of common phrases to create memorable website names; examples include “Fish.ing,” “Out.ing,” “Engineer.ing,” and “Breed.ing,” among countless others. As with many new gTLDs, there will be A) a sunrise period for trademark holders and then B) an auction-style initial … [Read more...]
Prices of .Com Domain Name Registrations, Renewals Set to Increase in September
RESTON, VA - Verisign Inc., the authoritative registry for the .com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains and the .cc country-code top-level domains, recently announced that August is the last month to register or renew your .com domain name and save some money before prices are increased this upcoming September. Once September 1 hits, Verisign stated they will increase the wholesale price of annual .com registration and renewals from $8.97 to $9.59, an … [Read more...]
Website Company Squarespace Enters Agreement to Purchase Google Domains
NEW YORK, NY - New York City-based website building and hosting company Squarespace announced this week that they will be entering into an agreement to purchase Google Domains – a domain name registrar operated by Google that offers domain registration, DNS hosting, dynamic DNS, domain forwarding, and email forwarding – in a deal that includes all of the company's assets, which includes approximately 10 million domains that are owned by millions of … [Read more...]
Pressure on ICANN to Reject Controversial “.ORG” Registry Sale to For-Profit Succeeds
LOS ANGELES, CA – On Thursday, April 30, ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, based in Los Angeles, CA, made a tough decision to protect the global non-profit community, by rejecting a controversial deal announced in November 2019, that PIR, Public Interest Registry, a non-profit company which owns and manages the rights to the registry for ‘.org’ domain names, would be sold and ultimately converted to a for-profit entity owned by Ethos Capital. … [Read more...]
Two Letter ngTLD “My.Life” Said To Be Sold for Whopping $175k, Buyer Unconfirmed
PALM BEACH, FL – According to several reports, the 2 letter gTLD “My.Life” has been sold in a transaction valued at $175,000.00 (according to the registry), with $100,000.00 paid up front in cash, and $75,000.00 to be paid by the end of the year. The sale was confirmed by a tweet from the Donuts Twitter account and by Elliot Silver who reached out to Matt Overman, Senior VP of Sales at Donuts. The buyer of the unusually short domain asset is believed to be Meredith … [Read more...]
ICANN Moves Forward With 20 Million Deal While World Preoccupied with Epidemic
PALM BEACH, FL – Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” I’d bet that’s been on the mind of ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, these last couple weeks, as President and CEO, Göran Marby, announced the organization has decided to move forward with its controversial twenty-million-dollar deal, many feel is nothing short of a bribe, with its latest renewal of the .com Registry Agreement with Verisign. The … [Read more...]
Bad News for ICANN: Pressure Intensifies for Decision Behind .Org Price Cap Removals
PALM BEACH, FL – Sometimes they say “where there is smoke, there is fire,” and the room keeps getting hotter for ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, for its poor, super-controversial and extremely suspect decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. The whole situation is turning into a hot potato / can of worm’s scenario where -if- any backroom deals or funny business exists; … [Read more...]
Wyden: “I Will Explore Every Avenue To Ensure Users, Nonprofits Are Protected”
PALM BEACH, FL - In the ongoing debacle which has highlighted ICANN's unusual position on the .org registry sale which resulted in the billion-dollar sale of .org to a private equity company, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) told The Register that the response from Ethos Capital to his and several of his colleges concerns regarding the sale .org - just isn't good enough. ....nothing in this response addresses my concerns that selling .org to a private equity firm would be a … [Read more...]
Laundry List of Questions on .ORG Sale Delivered by Congress to Ethos, IS, PIR
PALM BEACH, FL – A letter signed off by four U.S representatives, one of which is presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, was delivered to Ethos Capital, Internet Society and Public Interest Registry posing a long list of questions regarding the future operation of the .org domain registry. Among these questions, is what guarantee will be provided that the registry will not be relocated outside of the United States, which could put the domain name, widely used for U.S. … [Read more...]
ROOTS: Frank Schilling, Uniregistry, Join ICA; Group Sees Busy Year With Slew of Issues
PALM BEACH, FL – According to an internal membership notification, this past week, Frank Schilling, known for amassing one of the world's most valuable domain name portfolios as well as building one of the most robust domain name platforms in the industry, “Uniregistry,” has returned to the Internet Commerce Association as a “Gold” member; there are currently five (5) membership levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Individual). The ICA has been especially busy this … [Read more...]
Blowback: All Eyes on ICANN Over Poor Decision to Allow Price Cap Removal
PALM BEACH, NY – Unanswered questions and lots [and lots] of suspicion swirls around ICANN, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and its own transparency – all due to its super-controversial decision to allow the Registry Agreement with Public Interest Registry to renew without price-caps in place. It’s a decision that keeps coming back to haunt them, likely until this “.org” fiasco deal finally dies. If the organization (ICANN), which is supposed be … [Read more...]