Last week, Elliot Silver (@EJS) of DomainInvesting.com revealed that NameBio created a new domain sales category to allow investors to easily track cryptocurrency related domain sales. According to @Michael from NameBio, the new category produces sales data based on a number of crypto keywords. This is a welcomed addition for those interested in tracking publicly-disclosed cryptocurrency domain sales.
With this new, easily accessible data, we are going to take a look at the ten largest crypto domain sales from the past year to see what, if anything, these domains have been developed into.
Eth.com - $2 million
Almost exactly ten years ago, Eth.com sold at Moniker for $19,800. The name was sold to ETH Bioenergia, who used the name until 2013 when the brand was renamed as the memorable Odebrecht Agroindustrial. Based on WHOIS history, it looks as though the domain went into privacy protection at the end of 2016 and was subsequently sold for $2 million in a deal announced in October 2017.
The three-letter domain took on a valuable new meaning after the rise of the Ethereum coin ETH. As of writing, ETH.com doesn’t resolve and it is unknown who the new owner is. Although, it’s unlikely to be Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, since he tweeted that the .COM extension is “stale and boring”.
CryptoWorld.com - $195,000
This domain was sold just last week for a staggering $195,000. Domain investor and founder of DomainMarket.com, @Mike Mann, reportedly acquired CryptoWorld.com in 2011 for just $15, well before the current craze of crypto names. Archived screenshots suggest that Mike increased the price of CryptoWorld.com gradually, based on demand for crypto names. For example, on October 30th 2016, the name was available for just $9,888.
Recently, Mike Mann revealed that crypto exchange company Binance was the buyer of this name.
CryptoBank.com - $125,000
In April 2017, domain marketplace Undeveloped announced that it had sold the domain CryptoBank.com for $125,000. Nine months later and the domain isn’t displaying a website.
The WHOIS listing shows Craig Ellis, co-founder of Triangl as the domain’s owner. Craig is a former AFL footballer who created the swimwear company in 2012, reaching $45 million in sales by 2015.
CryptoRate.com - $99,888
Registered in 2013, CryptoRate.com sold on December 31st 2017. According to WHOIS, the new owner is Zayed AlNehayan of Abu Dhabi. The PO Box address listed on the WHOIS records shows a link to the Al Nayhan ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
There is currently no website displayed on the domain, but DomainIQ shows several other cryptocurrency domain names linked to the registrant’s email address.
BitForex.com - $65,000
Another sale from 2018 is BitForex.com. Again, a sale completed at Undeveloped, BitForex.com is now displaying a basic “under construction” page promising a Bitcoin trading platform.
There are a number of sites using the BitForex keyword, and it is currently unknown as to whether this was an upgrade or a purchase for a brand new project. The name is currently under privacy protection.
CryptoNews.com - $50,536
With the emerging popularity of cryptocurrencies, hundreds of blogs have popped up to provide commentary on the industry. Sites like Francois Carillo’s Alts.com do an excellent job of aggregating news from blogs around the world.
But this domain, sold at @Sedo in August 2017, is perfect for building into an industry leading resource. At the moment, the name doesn’t display anything except for a box prompting a password.
Interestingly, CryptoNews.com previously sold at NameJet in April 2016 for just $900.
BitcoinCash.org - $48,888
The only non .COM sale on our list is that of BitcoinCash.org. According to WHOIS, the domain was only registered in March 2017 and swiftly sold for $48,888 just four months later.
Bitcoin Cash derived from a cryptocurrency split in August 2017 after some members of the Bitcoin community looked unfavourably upon a decision to introduce a new improvement proposal.
The BitcoinCash.org domain looks to have been acquired by the founders of Bitcoin Cash and currently hosts a single-page website with plenty of information about Bitcoin Cash.
PayEther.com - $45,000
Another sale that took place via Sedo is that of PayEther.com for $45,000. Ether has taken on a new common meaning thanks to the emergence of the Ethereum network. According to Ethereum's official website, Ether is the "fuel" that powers Ethereum.
There are currently no clues as to who the owner of PayEther.com is since the WHOIS listing is under privacy protection and the domain name simply resolves to a parked page.
GlobalCoin.com - $35,516
A sale that happened towards the end of 2017 is that of GlobalCoin.com, closing via the domain marketplace Sedo. According to NameBio, this is the sixth largest "coin" keyword sale of all time, narrowly edging ahead of 2014's Bitcoin.com.au sale.
The GlobalCoin.com domain was acquired by someone from Shanghai, China. At the time of publishing, the domain forwards to a parked page.
CryptoTrading.com - $35,000
It's surprising to see that CryptoTrading.com comes in a number ten on our list. Based on similar sales within the past year, it seems the owner may have been able to hold out for a higher price. Nevertheless, the name sold in early 2018 via the Undeveloped marketplace.
CryptoTrading.com, originally registered in 2012, already displays a basic site which seems to suggest that the new owner of CryptoTrading.com is William Thomas, founder of British website CryptoMate.co.uk.
With this new, easily accessible data, we are going to take a look at the ten largest crypto domain sales from the past year to see what, if anything, these domains have been developed into.
Eth.com - $2 million
Almost exactly ten years ago, Eth.com sold at Moniker for $19,800. The name was sold to ETH Bioenergia, who used the name until 2013 when the brand was renamed as the memorable Odebrecht Agroindustrial. Based on WHOIS history, it looks as though the domain went into privacy protection at the end of 2016 and was subsequently sold for $2 million in a deal announced in October 2017.
The three-letter domain took on a valuable new meaning after the rise of the Ethereum coin ETH. As of writing, ETH.com doesn’t resolve and it is unknown who the new owner is. Although, it’s unlikely to be Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, since he tweeted that the .COM extension is “stale and boring”.
CryptoWorld.com - $195,000
This domain was sold just last week for a staggering $195,000. Domain investor and founder of DomainMarket.com, @Mike Mann, reportedly acquired CryptoWorld.com in 2011 for just $15, well before the current craze of crypto names. Archived screenshots suggest that Mike increased the price of CryptoWorld.com gradually, based on demand for crypto names. For example, on October 30th 2016, the name was available for just $9,888.
Recently, Mike Mann revealed that crypto exchange company Binance was the buyer of this name.
In April 2017, domain marketplace Undeveloped announced that it had sold the domain CryptoBank.com for $125,000. Nine months later and the domain isn’t displaying a website.
The WHOIS listing shows Craig Ellis, co-founder of Triangl as the domain’s owner. Craig is a former AFL footballer who created the swimwear company in 2012, reaching $45 million in sales by 2015.
CryptoRate.com - $99,888
Registered in 2013, CryptoRate.com sold on December 31st 2017. According to WHOIS, the new owner is Zayed AlNehayan of Abu Dhabi. The PO Box address listed on the WHOIS records shows a link to the Al Nayhan ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
There is currently no website displayed on the domain, but DomainIQ shows several other cryptocurrency domain names linked to the registrant’s email address.
BitForex.com - $65,000
Another sale from 2018 is BitForex.com. Again, a sale completed at Undeveloped, BitForex.com is now displaying a basic “under construction” page promising a Bitcoin trading platform.
There are a number of sites using the BitForex keyword, and it is currently unknown as to whether this was an upgrade or a purchase for a brand new project. The name is currently under privacy protection.
CryptoNews.com - $50,536
With the emerging popularity of cryptocurrencies, hundreds of blogs have popped up to provide commentary on the industry. Sites like Francois Carillo’s Alts.com do an excellent job of aggregating news from blogs around the world.
But this domain, sold at @Sedo in August 2017, is perfect for building into an industry leading resource. At the moment, the name doesn’t display anything except for a box prompting a password.
Interestingly, CryptoNews.com previously sold at NameJet in April 2016 for just $900.
BitcoinCash.org - $48,888
The only non .COM sale on our list is that of BitcoinCash.org. According to WHOIS, the domain was only registered in March 2017 and swiftly sold for $48,888 just four months later.
Bitcoin Cash derived from a cryptocurrency split in August 2017 after some members of the Bitcoin community looked unfavourably upon a decision to introduce a new improvement proposal.
The BitcoinCash.org domain looks to have been acquired by the founders of Bitcoin Cash and currently hosts a single-page website with plenty of information about Bitcoin Cash.
PayEther.com - $45,000
Another sale that took place via Sedo is that of PayEther.com for $45,000. Ether has taken on a new common meaning thanks to the emergence of the Ethereum network. According to Ethereum's official website, Ether is the "fuel" that powers Ethereum.
There are currently no clues as to who the owner of PayEther.com is since the WHOIS listing is under privacy protection and the domain name simply resolves to a parked page.
GlobalCoin.com - $35,516
A sale that happened towards the end of 2017 is that of GlobalCoin.com, closing via the domain marketplace Sedo. According to NameBio, this is the sixth largest "coin" keyword sale of all time, narrowly edging ahead of 2014's Bitcoin.com.au sale.
The GlobalCoin.com domain was acquired by someone from Shanghai, China. At the time of publishing, the domain forwards to a parked page.
CryptoTrading.com - $35,000
It's surprising to see that CryptoTrading.com comes in a number ten on our list. Based on similar sales within the past year, it seems the owner may have been able to hold out for a higher price. Nevertheless, the name sold in early 2018 via the Undeveloped marketplace.
CryptoTrading.com, originally registered in 2012, already displays a basic site which seems to suggest that the new owner of CryptoTrading.com is William Thomas, founder of British website CryptoMate.co.uk.