[CPWG] Need Advise: Tokenization of Domain Names

[gopal]

John, Evan, Roberto,

Thank you for the spirited response & time.

Here are my quick notes to some of the concerns. I ran into this concern during my research on DNS with a specific focus on IDNs.

#1.

Domain names first came to use in through the Domain Name System in 1983, with general public registration not being available until February 24, 1986. Hence I opt to get the number 50 years in the mail. I rhymes well with ICANN @ 25 Years.

#2.

At-Large is the community of individual Internet users who participate in the policy development work of ICANN. At-Large Structure is nice provision to get the granularity necessary to represent certain concerns of Individual Internet Users. I am opting to use my own words in this context rather that quoting some very good ICANN Documents.

#3.

In India, Domain Name is an intangible asset. This may be true in many other countries as well. By classification in this manner there is nothing 'physical' in nature with the Domain Name per se. However, this classification lists Domain Names along with non-compete agreements, customer lists, goodwill, and corporate intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Domain Name is not an IP !! Later on I can pick up my notes on some of the discussions on these matters in ICANN meetings. There have been many grey areas and I am trying to do some study on this.

To what extent can one consider a domain name [an intangible asset] to be an asset vs. liability?

#4: Domainer and Domaining [emerging terms]

Domaining, or the buying and selling of domain names much like in the case of "Real Estate". There are many software tools such as Domain name generators, Domain name marketplaces, Domain name management tools and Domain name appraisal tools....

<TECHNICAL OPEN>

 It is easy to have a notation of Regular Expression for Domain Name for the purpose of Software as given below.

regex = “^((?!-)[A-Za-z0-9-]{1, 63}(?<!-)\\.)+[A-Za-z]{2, 6}$”

The power of formalism comes in handy and dealing at a higher level of granularity makes the exercise optimal.

<TECHNICAL CLOSE.>

Generically there are so many applications now. The top three aspects for my research are: e-commerce, mobile apps & social media, TLDs [the new ones make the work lively].

$5: Liquidity of Domain Names

[Thanks to John for some quantitative data that I will get back to later; I am sorry I am not able include separate mails in the same thread on this list]

Domain names are considered “liquid,” meaning they can be converted into cash quickly with a generally-accepted floor value.

Good Domain Names are always "Liquid" at a steep discount from the retail price.

Quantitative Data from my Notes: Out of over 300 million registered domains, only 0.5-1% have some sort of reasonably quantifiable wholesale value. Do the ones in a given basket help in bad times?

Reference:
Domain Name Liquidity: What is It, Where Was It, Where Will It Be?
This was a Panel Discussion during the DNSeattle that took place on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at GoDaddy’s headquarters in Kirkland, Washington.

Your thoughts....

Sincerely,



Gopal T V
0 9840121302
https://vidwan.inflibnet.ac.in/profile/57545
https://www.facebook.com/gopal.tadepalli

PS: Olivier: I need more time to get back on the blockchain realted concerns
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dr. T V Gopal
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Anna University
Chennai - 600 025, INDIA
Ph : (Off) 22351723 Extn. 3340
       (Res) 24454753
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

________________________________
From: CPWG <cpwg-bounces at icann.org> on behalf of Evan Leibovitch via CPWG <cpwg at icann.org>
Sent: 28 September 2023 02:10
To: John McCormac <jmcc at hosterstats.com>
Cc: cpwg at icann.org <cpwg at icann.org>
Subject: Re: [CPWG] Need Advise: Tokenization of Domain Names

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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