.xyz Crosses 15 Billion Monthly DNS Queries

Last month, .xyz crossed 2 million total registrations. Two weeks later, there were 2.5 million registrations. But as I’ve said before, registration numbers don’t matter. Utilization is the best indicator of success, in my opinion. Thanks to the execution of my team to carry out our mission of bringing choice, affordability, and flexibility to internet users all over the world, .xyz has seen a great deal of adoption across all industries. It has truly become for every website, everywhere.

Registration stats from namestat.org/xyz on 3/7/16

One industry in particular that has really embraced .xyz is the tech scene. By making everything available and giving startups and innovative businesses the opportunity to stand out with their web address, we have seen .xyz websites launched recently by some pretty well-established end users:

Starship Technologies – Starship.xyz (GoDaddy customer)

According to the historical WHOIS data, Starship.xyz was acquired by the cofounders of Skype in the summer of 2015 for their new company, Starship Technologies. Their new venture has an ambitious mission: to make local delivery free by building self-driving robots. Since their November announcement, Starship.xyz has been featured in nearly every major news publication, including the TechCrunch, Fast Company, and Fortune.

Imagine Publishing – GadgetDaily.xyz (123-reg customer)

Imagine Publishing is best known for distributing How It Works, Digital Photographer, and Android Magazine, among other technology and science periodicals. Their newest magazine, Gadget, was established in October 2015 with the domain GadgetDaily.xyz.

Deloitte – Exponentials.xyz (GoDaddy customer)

Deloitte, one of the leading financial consulting firms in the world, recently launched Exponentials.xyz to curate content that would “educate, inspire, and help leaders harness exponentials.” The site is frequently updated with news about the most innovative new technologies that have the potential to impact the world beyond just commercial success. To me, there’s no better domain to track these trends than .xyz.

It’s not just technology companies adopting .xyz though. It’s businesses like Rise.xyz (previously PaySavvy.com), travelers like AllisonLaw.xyz, and musicians like 4thOfMay.xyz. In fact, utilization of .xyz domains has grown so much that we crossed 15 billion total DNS queries in October 2015. Compared to October 2014 (792 million), that’s almost a 20X increase in a year.

Because of .xyz’s widespread adoption, the value of premium names and aftermarket sales has also increased substantially. As a registry, we are seeing variably priced domains selling at a number of different registrars. Recent registrations include 888.xyz ($13,000/year recommended retail price), Diamonds.xyz ($3,000/year), and Feed.xyz ($1,300/year) – a digital marketing agency.

Investors are also seeing huge returns when reselling their .xyz domains. For example, 180.xyz was sold by the registry at the Right of the Dot / NamesCon auction for $250 in January 2015. Exactly one year later, that buyer flipped the domain for $3,500 at the same auction – that’s a 1300% ROI! In my opinion, the new buyer got a great deal too. I believe 180.xyz is worth between $10,000 – $15,000 today only a few months later.

When .xyz launched, I made a decision to hold back very few domains to bring true competition and choice to the internet. Many extremely highly desirable domains were made available for standard registration fees. Webcams.xyz was hand registered in August 2015, most likely for under $10. Less than six months later, the domain was sold on NameJet for $1,109 – a steal. Another domain, 99999.xyz was originally hand registered in June 2014. It sold on NameJet this past January for $7,111.

These are just a few examples of public sales. There have been many more, including several very big sales that have not been reported. As a registry, we have declined a number of 6-figure offers for domains that are currently reserved or variably priced.

Aside: We will consider direct sales of variably priced domains. Packages begin at $500,000 USD. Serious offers may be submitted to [email protected].

The exciting thing is that there are still so many highly desirable .xyz domains that have yet to be claimed. Although I always encourage people to do their own research and invest at their own risk, I sincerely believe that almost any .xyz domain purchased today has the potential to be an amazing investment. They can be assets that will rapidly appreciate in value. The believers who joined Generation XYZ in June 2014 – such as the seller of 99999.xyz – will be rewarded.

It isn’t too late to join Generation XYZ®. I am happy to announce our partnership with West.cn to auction off 160 .xyz domains, including 1.xyz, 98.xyz, HK.xyz, and VIP.xyz. With the exception of 1.xyz, all domains will be sold at no reserve. Many of these domains have never been registered before – they were removed from our variably priced premium list and will renew for standard registration fees, unless they are deleted. To read the complete announcement, visit the .xyz blog and contact us if you need help registering.

Although XYZ is a business, it is also a passion project. It is much more satisfying for me to see entrepreneurs profiting from the worldwide success of .xyz than to personally get a big sale. I enjoy seeing end users like Rise.xyz and Starship.xyz get the ideal domain for their new business or rebrand while also knowing that a supporter of .xyz benefitted from it. Generation XYZ, or #GenXYZ, truly is a community. And as a community, we must stick together. That’s why the XYZ Team continues to support our registrants and promotes a slew of .xyz websites at every opportunity, whether it is in our #WebsiteWednesday blog posts, the news, or our marketing campaigns. We always look forward to businesses and individuals contacting us with their .xyz website submissions.

This post was a bit overdue. I look forward to keeping you informed on our global efforts.

#GenXYZ

D