Release allows domain registrants to add web3 capabilities to their domains. Domain name and web3 company D3 Global launched its Doma Protocol mainnet today. With the launch, domain registrants can add web3 capabilities to their domain names, including tokenization to fractionalize domain names. D3 Global has signed up numerous registrars at launch, including InterNetX and ConnectReseller. Encirca announced today that it's operational with the Doma Protocol, allowing its customers to add web3 functionality to domains in 450 top level domains.

A cargo platform, a venture studio, and a crypto company bought domain names. Sedo's top public sale this past week was 123hao .com. Baidu owns hao123.com, but the buyer of 123hao transferred the domain to Namecheap rather than to MarkMonitor, where Baidu keeps its domains. Here's a list of end user domain name sales that were recently completed at Sedo. You can view previous lists like this…

Who had the best crystal ball? 2025 has been a roller coaster! Between trade wars, currency fluctuations, and Google destroying AdSense for Domains, a lot has happened. A year ago, I asked 22 people to predict what would happen in the domain industry this year. Now that we're 11 months through, let's go back and listen to those predictions to see who was right…and who missed the mark.

Domain was registered well before rapper SNSG used the acronym as a stage name. A rapper who goes by the stage name SNSG has been found (pdf) to have tried reverse domain name hijacking the domain snsg.com. Manuel Alex Mendoza Cabanyog's company, SNSG Company, LLC, filed the dispute against the domain name with the World Intellectual Property Organization. He inquired about buying the domain name in January 2024 but was unwilling to pay the $60,000 asking price.

A shoe store, several AI companies, and a business that helps employers recover employment tax bought domain names. Sedo's top sale this week was solit.com for $80,000. The buyer uses a longer domain name and forwards this domain to it. Here's a list of end user domain name sales that were recently completed at Sedo. You can view previous lists like this…

All industry participants invited to survey for next year's report. Each year, InterNetX and Sedo publish a Global Domains Report that's full of interesting data on the primary and secondary domain name market. The report uses data collected by the registrar and the large domain marketplace. For example, the 2025 report showed: 69% of sales at Sedo last year were Buy Now sales.

Panelist doesn't consider RDNH despite apparent false statement. A FORUM UDRP panelist has denied a cybersquatting complaint over the domain name boku.net, but I'm curious why he didn't consider reverse domain name hijacking. Payments company Boku, Inc., which uses the domain name boku.com, filed the case. Boku was founded in 2009. Peter Eisch registered the boku.net in 1996 and has owned the domain ever since.

This startup chose a valuable .com over the matching .ai domain. Decades before today's artificial intelligence boom, an MIT professor created a simple chatbot program called Eliza. Now, a new AI startup has adopted the historic name and secured the matching .com. Eliza founder Stephen Garden said he was drawn to the name Eliza because of its place in chatbot history.

Contract anniversary will hit late next year, giving Verisign the option to raise prices. I've long assumed that Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) couldn't raise the .com wholesale price in 2026. The thinking was this: Verisign last increased the price in September 2024. That was the last price increase in its previous contract period, and a new contract period started later in 2024.

Company files "Plan B" reverse domain name hijacking case. Insurance company Cake Insure, Inc. attempted to reverse hijack the domain name everpeak.com, a UDRP panelist has ruled. The company has an insurance business called EverPeak that uses the domain name EverPeakInsurance.com. That business was named well after everpeak.com was registered. Cake Insure tried to buy the domain through a GoDaddy broker, but the broker was unable to get a response from the registrant.

A cybersquatting panel disagreed with a panel's decision in a prior case. Last month, I wrote about how Google lost a UDRP it filed against the registrant of NanoBananaAI .com. In that case, the panel ruled that Google did not show common law trademark rights in the name Nano Banana. It had launched Nano Banana just days before the registration, and it released it without saying the company was behind it.

.Org manager paid a lot less to Identity Digital for managing its registry backend under new contract. Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit that manages the .org top level domain name, has posted its annual Form 990 (pdf) tax return for 2024. The company generated $104.2 million in program revenue in 2024, up from $103.7 million in the prior year. Total revenue increased to $106.4 million from $105.1 million, thanks in part to higher investment returns.

Learn which landers to use and a tip to get more out of the lease-to-own. My guest this week is Wade Smith, Director of Aftermarket Sales at Afternic. Wade talks about the new DomainNames.com initiative and how it came to be. He also shares how Afternic brokers follow up on leads and provides tips about which landers to use. You'll also get guidance for pricing your domains and learn a simple tweak to help you make more money on your lease-to-own sales.

Google changes hit the company hard in Q3 after strong start to the year. Earlier this week, IONOS (IOS.F) announced that it plans to sell its Sedo unit. The reason was quite clear to industry observers: the traffic arbitrage business Sedo has relied on for much of its revenue in recent years was severely impacted by Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) winddown of AdSense for Domains.

Platforms combine for 136 sales of $2,000 or more. Newfold Digital's two domain marketplaces, NameJet and SnapNames, combined to sell about $749k of domain names over $2,000 last month. The total does not include the many sales below that threshold. All told, there were 136 sales of $2,000 or more. Here are some domains that stand out to me: Tesoro .com $91,000 - Tesoro means "treasure" and is also used as a term of endearment.

Application describes ways to use AI to assist with parking page creation and optimization. D3Serve, a company applying blockchain technology to domain names, has filed a sweeping patent application (pdf) covering aspects of domain parking systems. The company is an ICANN-accredited registrar offering domain tokenization through its Namefi platform. Its patent application is titled "System and Method for Automated Domain Advertising Using Artificial Intelligence With Language and Retrieval Augmented Models."

New registries should enter the market with their eyes wide open. A lot of new companies will enter the domain registry business with the next round of new top level domains next year. Last time around, there was irrational exuberance about the opportunity. Hopefully, people now have more realistic expectations. This isn't just about volumes. It's also about how you work with the registrar channel.

A healthcare organization, a deck builder, and a tourism marketing business bought domain names. Sedo's public sales list this week was led by a two-letter .org domain. The company also sold ado.ai to the owner of rankingCoach GmbH. This might be an investment purchase rather than end user. Here's a list of end user domain name sales that were recently completed at Sedo.

Company puts Sedo domain and ad monetization business up for sale. IONOS Group SE announced today that it plans to sell its Sedo domain sales and monetization business. In a release, Achim Weiß, CEO of IONOS Group SE, stated: The AdTech business faces exciting challenges and at the same time has a lot of potential. To leverage this potential, increasing management attention is required, which we cannot provide optimally on a permanent basis.

New rules make it harder for search arbitrage companies to use alternative to AdSense for Domains. With Google AdSense for Domains effectively dead, domain monetizers and search arbitrage businesses are moving to the company's Related Search for Content (RSOC) product. This is prompting Google to impose restrictions on the product, which could further reduce publishers' revenue. In August, the company added new "Restricted Access Features" to its Related Search product.

Company considering strategic options for its entire business. Team Internet Group (AIM: TIG, OTCQX: TIGXF) is undergoing a strategic review, with active discussions for "divestment or formation of strategic partnerships for substantially all parts of the business in separate transactions," the company announced today. The company said discussions are most advanced for the Domains, Identity & Software segment. This includes domain name registrars such as Moniker and RegistryGate, as well as a registry services provider business.

Company tries to upgrade to .com through UDRP. A FORUM UDRP panelist has found Sunwin Vibes Ltd to have tried reverse domain name hijacking. The online gaming business uses the domain sun .win and filed the case against sunwin .com. Unfortunately for Sunwin Vibes, the registrant of sunwin .com registered the domain name in 1999. That's well before Sunwin Vibes existed.

There were a lot of new (old) faces, and organizers can improve next year's show with some tweaks. NamesCon took place in Miami last week, and I'm glad I attended. Here are my thoughts on the show. Miami was a good move It's good for conferences to move around the country, and Miami was a smart selection for this year. I saw lots of people at this event who live in the area that I haven't seen in years.

Panel denies claim against dictionary .ai domain. StayinFront, Inc., which operates an augmented reality platform marketed at augment.COM, has lost a cybersquatting case it filed against augment.AI. The panel found (pdf) this was a case of reverse domain name hijacking. It's the fourth time Deep Vision Architects, which owns the domain, has had to defend one of its .ai domains in a cybersquatting dispute.

Company didn't exist when domain was registered. An Italian nutritional supplements company has been found guilty (pdf) of reverse domain name hijacking. SNEP S.p.A., which uses the domain name snep.it, filed a cybersquatting complaint against snep.com. A domain investor registered snep.com in 2000 and still owns the domain name. Based on the record the Complainant submitted, it did not exist in 2000.