[CPWG] Need Advise: Tokenization of Domain Names

[Evan Leibovitch]

Sorry, didn't get the original email, just John's reply ... and maybe I
know why ;-).

On 27/09/2023 13:59, gopal via CPWG wrote:



> > Domain names have been a valuable asset for nearly 50 years. However,
> the lack of liquidity has been a challenge for domain owners.
>

This might just be the most ludicrous statement I have encountered since
first becoming involved with ICANN, and that's the better part of 20 years.

Domain names are extremely liquid, especially for an entire industry that
trades them as commodities. For those who genuinely use domains for their
brand or Internet presence, the domain then generally becomes as liquid as
the brand it's attached to. But generally there are no legal or contractual
restrictions limiting one's ability to transfer a domain at any time
(beyond the industry- or country-specific bounds of the TLD, which the
buyer should have known at the time of purchase).

The identified challenge, rather, is the DEMAND for resale domains. It's
easy for domain speculators to convince themselves their inventory is worth
more than the market will pay. If you have to lower the price to below what
you paid, welcome to the wonderful world of speculation. Maybe you would be
better off putting your money in Chinese real estate. But that's not the
same as saying that domain owners are actually prevented from selling on
short notice.

The "tokenizing' scheme proposed -- giving speculators the ability to
offload the risk/reward of overvalued domains -- offers all the appeal and
logic of NFTs, and likely the same longevity. But hey, knock yourself out.
Maybe there's someone out there that may think this is worthwhile; there's
one born every minute, as the saying goes.

Meanwhile I have no idea why or how the emergence of new "crypto-themed"
TLDs will increase the value of the existing domain pool. Sounds like
magical thinking to me.

In any case -- why is this being asked of At-Large?

- Evan
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