We continue to see some extraordinary transactions in one of the most fascinating years in the history of domain aftermarket sales. Whenever trends develop there are a lot of impressive individual sales to point in whatever sector happens to be hot at the time. However, this time  time around we are seeing large portfolios of domains in popular categories like short domains (2-4 characters) and numeric  domains (that can command respectable money even when they stretch beyond four characters).

A prime example of that came Thursday when  DomainPros.com announced they had purchased a portfolio o0f 260 five-digit numeric domains for $1,000,000 - an average of $3,846 per domain (21889.com and 36689.com are examples of the kinds of names that were included in the buy). DomainPros CEO Sai Pola said the deal, brokered by 62.com and transacted through Escrow.com, included a large number of domains that were once part of a giant numeric portfolio owned by Marchex. 

Pola noted, "Over the past few years, numeric domain names have experienced consistent growth due to unprecedented demand from China. Chinese investors are looking to diversify their wealth by also investing in foreign assets, with domain names proving to be among their favorites. While the price of assets such as gold and silver, assets traditionally sought after by Asian investors in general and Chinese investors in particular, has stagnated, digital assets have taken off. "

Pola added. "Investors tend to prefer digital assets as a store of value over precious metals due to their increased portability.  Therefore,

DomainPros.com CEO Sai Pola

a generational shift is taking place. Traditionally dominant asset classes such as precious metals are losing their luster, paving the way for the digital asset dominance we are starting to experience in the present. "