The Lowdown
May 2025 Archive

Welcome to the 
The Lowdown from 
DN Jonal - your source for notable news and information from all corners of the global domain name industry! 

The Lowdown is compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher 
Ron Jackson.

NamesCon Global Provides a Peak Into Social Activities Planned for 2025 Conference in Miami

As we told you in our last post, the NamesCon Global conference is moving to Miami for their 2025 show. The event, centered around the downtown Ice Palace special events center, will get underway with social events on November 4, followed by two full business days November 5 & 6. In our previous post we told you about some of the first Main Stage business sessions to be announced. Now, Namescon is also spreading the news what they have planned for the social side of the big show.

Most people will be arriving in Miami on November 4 to get settled in at the anchor hotel, the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. After you check in, you might want to beat the crowd by picking up your badge then joining fellow attendees who opt in for a Wynwood Buggies Tour of Miami's famous grafitti-art district. At 7pm the Namescon Welcome Party at "The Deck" is the place to be. There you will find a sonic DJ, beer and wine, food trucks and the first-ever Namescon Pickleball Tournament.

The next morning (November 5), the networking will start early when you jump on one of the buses that will shuttle attendees to opening day at the NamesCon festival grounds. After the morning business sessions, you'll find more fun outside where food trucks

A scene from the Wynwood Buggies Tour in Miami

and lawn games will be the center attention. Others will stay inside for the annual Women of the Web Lunch. Later in the day, a major highlight will be the RightoftheDot Digital Assets Auction and an All-American picnic on the Festival Grounds complete with burgers, dogs, beer, wine, DJ and dancing.

On day 2 (November 6), early bird fitness fans can get a jump on the day by joining the Namescon Fun Run. Then, after another productive day of business sessions on multiple stages, the switch flips back to some unique entertainment - the inaugural NamesCon Server Throwing Competition. Capping it all off that evening will be a special appearance from the Serial Killerz in concert at Miami's legendary Wynwood Walls outdoor gallery. 

A scene from a Wynwood Walls concert in Miami

In re-imagining what NamesCon Global can be, the conference's new U.S. based management team has come up with a B2B tropical vacation experience that is tailor made for their shiny new home in Miami. Many more details to come in the weeks and months ahead.

(Posted May 30, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0530.htm

*****

Main Stage Agenda Released for 2025 NamesCon Global Conference in Miami - Early Bird Ticket Offer Expires May 30

Anticipation continues to build for the NamesCon Global conference's move to Miami that is  now just a few months away. The domain industry's big event will be held in Florida for the first time November 5-6, 2025 at the Ice Palace special events venue in downtown Miami. You will probably want to get into town November 4 though to catch some cool pre-show activities including an art district tour, a pickleball tournament and a 7pm NamesCon Welcome Party at The Deck.

The two-day business agenda is also taking shape with the Main Stage schedule just released (additional sessions will be held on multiple side stages with details on those coming in the weeks ahead).

Image from Bigstock

In the first two hours alone, opening day attendees will hear from Andrew Miller (Hilco Digital) and Braden Pollock (who just completed a $2.1 million sale of Fuse.com), industry pioneer, DomainMarket.com Founder and Florida resident Michael Mann and Atom.com Founder & CEO Darpan Munjal. In the afternoon, MedaOptions Founder and CEO Andrew Rosener will be on stage and at 4pm living legend Monte Cahn will be running the traditional NamesCon RightOfTheDot Digital Asset Auction. Opening day will conclude with a big Party on the Festival Grounds and the hits just keep on coming on Day 2.

For those who want to save a substantial amount of money on tickets, the key detail to focus on now is that Friday, May 30 will be the last day you can get the discounted Early Bird tickets. 

For those who haven't been to a NamesCon Global event before, you can get a good idea of what the experience is like from our comprehensive review of last year's conference in Austin, Texas. Some major developments beyond the the move to South Florida (where the first major domain conference was held back in 2004) have happened in the past year. Those have included a change in ownership of the NamesCon conference itself with Opus Origin buying NamesCon, Cloudfest Global and Cloudfest USA (an event that runs concurrently with NamesCon Global conferences) from WHD Events. 

While these changes will give NamesCon Global a major refresh, it was also good to learn that several of the people responsible for the success of previous events will still be there helping take NamesCon to the next level. Those include Soeren von Varchmin (now dubbed NamesCon's Chief Evangelist) who remains responsible for assembling the outstanding content NamesCon has built its reputation on. Christian Jaeger, who served as NamesCon CEO prior to the sale of WHD Events, will stay involved too, providing valuable input for the NamesCon Advisory Board while continuing to serve as CEO of the giant Cloudfest global conference in Germany.

Having been at the first major domain conference in Delray Beach, Florida back in 2004 and every one of the NamesCon conferences since they began in 2014, it is very fulfilling to see NamesCon bringing leaders of the global domain industry back to the Sunshine State where it all started - definitely a full circle moment of the best kind. 

(Posted May 23, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0523.htm

*****

Andrew Miller and Braden Pollock Ignite Another Skyrocket with $2.1 Million+ Sale of Fuse.com

When it comes to domain aftermarket fireworks, super broker Andrew Miller at Hilco Digital Assets and veteran domain investor Braden Pollock are often the guys lighting the fuse. So it was especially fitting to learn today that it was they who lit the match on a newly announced $2,129,509 sale of Fuse.com. Andrew had the exclusive listing of this gem from Braden's world class portfolio and once again made the magic happen. 

Andrew had already brokered the biggest publicly reported sale of the year to date in Icon.com at $12 million. With Fuse.com he has given Hilco Digital #3 as well (we will be charting the sale and adding it to our YTD Top 100 Chart when our next bi-weekly domain sales report comes out Wednesday evening, May 28). 

Image from Bigstock

Credit also goes to QEIP.com where the buyer first requested help in locating and acquiring a top tier domain for their enterprise. It turned out that Andrew and Hilco Digital were representing a domain that was a perfect fit in Fuse.com (the fact that it was one of Braden's names is not surprising given the quality of the assets he holds).  

This is the fourth publicly reported seven-figure or higher sale thus far in 2025. Another legendary broker, Larry Fischer, rang the bell with #2 Commerce.com at $2.2 million in February and Sedo did it with GX.com at $1.2 million in March. Everyone should keep in mind that publicly reported sales are just the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of sales at the high end of the market are made under NDAs and never disclosed. The ones that parties to the sale allow to be publicized do give us important insight into how highly valued these premier digital assets are though and for that we are always grateful.

(Posted May 21, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0521.htm

*****

Public Interest Registry Wants Nominations for 7th Annual .ORG Impact Awards - $180,000 in Prize Money To Be Distributed With $50,000 Going to .ORG of the Year

Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit stewards of the .ORG domain has issued a call for nominations for their 7th annual .ORG Impact Awards. The awards program was created to recognize outstanding mission-driven individuals and organizations from the global .ORG Community for their positive contributions to society. The winners from seven categories will split a prize pool totaling $180,000 with $50,000 of that going to the grand prize winner that will be named the .ORG of the Year.

Over the past six years, the .ORG Impact Awards have recognized 226 outstanding .ORGs from over 87 countries. Through the Awards, Public Interest Registry has donated $685,000 for transformative work taking place around the world. 

As in past years,  any person or organization with a .ORG domain is welcome to apply for the 2025 awards free of charge.  Just be sure you get your application/nomination in before the deadline - June 4, 2025. Organizations may apply for multiple categories of awards if more than one category is a good fit. The entries will be evaluated by a judging panel of leaders in the Internet, nonprofit, and marketing sectors.  

Categories for the 2025 awards include:

• Health and Healing

• Quality Education for All

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Environmental Stewardship

• Hunger and Poverty

• Community Building

• Rising Star (For the first time ever, PIR has increased the age limit for the “Rising Star” category from 25 to under 30, offering even more young changemakers making a difference in the world the chance to apply).

35 finalists (five from each category) will be invited on a sponsored trip to Washington, D.C. with opportunities to meet with nonprofit leaders, culminating in the final award ceremony with a surprise celebrity host on October 7, 2025. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony, honoring their work to make the world a better place. Additional event details will be released in the coming months. 

(Posted May 16, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0516.htm

*****

How to Get Your Own Top Level Domain - New Book from Joe Alagna & Andrey Insarov Will Help You Prepare For the Next Round of New TLDs

Earlier today I posted an article about the .ART registry celebrating their 8th anniversary this week. They are one of the more successful new top level domains to come out of ICANN's first wave of new gTLDs that brought hundreds of new extensions to the Internet. Now ICANN is preparing to launch the second wave of new gTLDs in 2026 and a lot of people will be vying to own a top level domain of their own. As attractive as that prospect appears on the surface, creating a successful new TLD is a lot more difficult than most people might imagine.

In the article about .ART we focused on what the founders did after winning their  TLD to attract hundreds of thousands of loyal supporters. Thanks to a new book, How to Get Your Own Top Level Domain, that has just been released by industry veterans Joe Alagna and Andrey Insarov, you can learn what has to be done before you can take the reins of your own new domain registry.

Joe Alagna (CSO, it.com Domains) and Andrey Insarov (Founder & CEO, it.com Domains)

There are few people in the industry that have more experience in acquiring new top level domains than Joe Alagna. He spent almost 13 years immersed in the process of helping new domains come into existence during the first wave of new TLDs.  Almost 2,000 applications were received during that "gold rush" and Joe worked on about 60 of the applications that were successful. With a massive second round of new gTLDs on the horizon, Joe decided it was time to share what he learned from his experiences on the new TLD battlefield. 

That war zone is a busy one because the potential payoff is tantalizing. Joe explained, "A top-level domain like .realty or .art isn’t just a string. It’s a platform – a naming ecosystem that can host millions of second-level domains beneath it, each potentially worth hundreds, thousands, or sometimes millions of dollars individually. The operator controls pricing, policy, partnerships, and access. Operators of TLDs like .xyz, .io, and .ai have built multi-million-dollar enterprises by monetizing naming rights across niches. Verisign, which operates .com and .net, has become a $20+ billion company doing exactly this."

Joe's co-author, Intis Telecom Founder Andrey Insarov, is already running his own domain registry at it.com Domains. It is  the latest enterprise in what has been an extraordinarily successful entrepreneurial career that we detailed in a July 2022 Cover Story about Andrey. He gives the new book a first hand account of running a new domain registry, along with world class business advice that you can apply to any enterprise. If you are giving any thought at all to applying for a new gTLD next year, getting a copy of How to Get Your Own Top Level Domain would be a great place to start.

(Posted May 15, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0515-02.htm

*****

The .ART Registry is Celebrating Its 8th Anniversary and Expanding Its Reach With a Comprehensive Commercially Released Artist Handbook 

The .ART Registry is celebrating its 8th anniversary this week. Since launching May 10, 2017 .ART has become a digital home to nearly 300,000 creatives in over 170 countries. They have gotten there by constant community building efforts both online and off. Those have included q popular webinar series featuring art and tech leaders, its Open Call offerings, and continued backing of the Healing Power of Art Initiative, including a $1 million endowment for fellowships in Art Therapy graduate studies at The George Washington University.

For this year's anniversary the registry is putting its brand into more hands offline with the commercial release of the comprehensive new Artist Handbook by .ART. The softcover book ($19.95 at Amazon) was developed with input from artists, curators, and professionals working at the intersection of art, law, tech, and funding. The publication was put together by .ART Founder Ulvi Kasimov, Editors Jeff Sass and Anastasia Sukhanov, Illustrator Medina Kasimova and six contributors.

In its 15 chapters, the Artist Handbook covers everything from developing your visual identity to licensing, contracts, grant writing, and building your presence online and in Web3. Contributors include Anna Fischer, a legal advisor specializing in intellectual property and blockchain; Lara Monro, a funding consultant who helps artists secure grants and navigate access support; and Arthur Steiner, a cultural strategist focused on funding innovation in the arts, and many others. 

The artworks featured in the handbook were selected through an Open Call at HUG.art, making this a truly collaborative publication based on the experiences and aesthetics of artists from the global .ART community. Founder Ulvi Kasimov said, “As we mark eight years of serving the global creative community, we wanted to offer something lasting and practical. This handbook reflects our belief that artists need more than inspiration—they need access, support, and tools to thrive.”

Recent highlights from the .ART community include teamLab’s record-breaking immersive exhibition in Abu Dhabi, Sharon Stone’s upcoming solo show in Rome and the launch of the Mediterranean-focused VIMA Art Fair. These are just a few examples of .ART’s efforts to empower artists, institutions, and forward-thinking brands so they can gain visibility and connect with audiences worldwide. 

ICANN is expected to open another of new TLDs next year. Hundreds of new TLDs were added to the Internet in the last wave but only a small percentage of those have thrived - those being, in almost every case, the ones that have heavily invested in time, money and resources to build a loyal following. With the next wave of new TLDs schedule to begin rolling out next year, .ART is one that serves as a reminder to potential operators that making a registry successful requires a lot more than the initial acquisition cost of a TLD. 

(Posted May 15, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0515.htm

*****

Media.Options.com CEO Andrew Rosener Racks Up 7th Straight #1 Finish on Escrow.com's Annual Master of Domains Honor Roll

For the past nine years, Escrow.com has been shining a light on many of the top domain brokers in the industry through their annual Master of Domains Awards program. The honors go to the top ten brokers, based on total dollar value of transactions closed on the Escrow.com platform. When the 2025 winners were announced today, MediaOptions.com CEO Andrew Rosener broke his own record by collecting a 7th consecutive #1 MOD Award. Just making the list is an honor and that is something Andrew has done in every year of the program's existence. 

Here is the complete 2025 Top Ten: 

1. Andrew Rosener - Media Options 
2. Keith Richter - Lumis Group 
3. Jason Miner - Name Advisor 
4. Brent Oxley 
5. Ryan McKegney - DomainAgents 
6. Steve Miholovich - Name Arena 
7. Jeffrey Gabriel - Saw.com 
8. James Booth - DomainBooth.com 
9. Brian Harbin - Grit Brokerage 
10. Mark Daniel - Domain Holdings Group

In the past the MOD winners have been revealed at the annual NamesCon conference (the photo of Andrew at right is from the June 2024 NamesCon event in Austin where he picked up his 6th #1 plaque). However, this year NameCon shifted its usual summer dates to November when it will be held in Miami. As a result the 2025 honor roll was released online today instead.

MediaOptions CEO Andrew Rosener

Escrow.com CEO Matt Barrie said, “We’re thrilled to present the ninth edition of our Master of Domains award. Congratulations to Andrew Rosener for his continued dominance as our 2025 Master of Domains. We also commend Keith Richter and our new entrant in 2025, Jason Minor, for their remarkable achievements. All winners should be proud of their 2024 transactions, delivering tremendous value for your clients and continuing to be consistent forces in the industry.”

(Posted May 12, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0512.htm

*****

ICA Announces New Venue, Dates and Expanded Schedule for 2026 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas

The Internet Commerce Association (ICA), the non-profit organization that fights to protect domain registrant's rights, has announced some major changes for their next Annual Member's Meeting in Las Vegas. Those include a new venue for the 2026 event and the addition of a third day to the rapidly growing conference's schedule. After running at the huge Resorts World complex for the past three years, the meeting is moving to another popular location on the Las Vegas Strip - the Park MGM - for an

event that will run January 15-17, 2026. Those dates come immediately after Affiliate Summit West which will make them especially convenient for the many members who attend both.

The Park MGM location comes with several advantages including rooms (both at the Park MGM and at an upscale option, NoMad Hotels) that are much closer to the conference spaces - just a short elevator ride down (the NoMad suites occupy the top four floors of the building and have a separate lobby).  For those who don't smoke another huge plus is the fact the Park MGM is the only hotel on the entire strip with a No Smoking policy, including the casino. The Park MGM, formerly known as the Monte Carlo, has 3,000 newly renovated rooms and a variety of popular dining options onsite and next door (the Park is connected to Aria by a walkway and also has a  tram connection to the Bellagio).

The Park MGM sits in the middle of all of the action on the Las Vegas Strip.

Registration will be opening soon with early bird pricing, so keep an eye out for that. The main thing the ICA wanted to do now was get the dates and other major change information out there so you can save the dates. If you haven't been to an ICA meeting you are missing out on what has become one of the most informative, entertaining and productive events on the global conference calendar. You can get a good idea of what the experience entails from our review of this year's conference held this past January. You do need to be an ICA member to attend, and if you are a professional in this industry, you definitely should consider joining!

(Posted May 6, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0506.htm

*****

Free May 8 Webinar Featuring InterNetX and Sedo Experts Will Take You on a Deep Dive Into Today's Global Domain Industry

A few weeks ago we told you about the release of the 2025 Global Domain Report from  InterNetX and Sedo The two industry leaders have been publishing this extraordinarily comprehensive report annually since 2020 and it has been providing invaluable insight into the worldwide domain business ever since.

Now, they're taking this outstanding resource up another level with a free webinar that will feature two of the key experts behind the report - InterNetX's Simone Catania and Sedo's Semra Koerner. The webinar, hosted by eco - the Association of the Internet Industry, will be presented Thursday, May 8, starting at 11am US Eastern Daylight time (15:00 PM UTC / 17:00 PM CEST). Anyone who wants to attend can register here.

In addition to giving you a first hand account of findings from the Global Domain Report, the webinar, presented in English, will cover these topics:

Simone Catania (left) and Semra Koerner will host the
 Global Domain Report Webinar Thursday, May 8.

• A comprehensive domain industry status quo

• Key insights from the primary and aftermarkets

• Popular TLDs, SLDs, and keyword trends

• A closer look at AI trends, domain security, Web3 domains, NIS2 and new gTLD program

• Essential sales data from the aftermarket

In order to put this year's Global Domain Report together, InterNetX and Sedo interviewed experts from around the world to gather the most up-to-date and most relevant insight, so you can expect this hour to be some of the most informative time you'll spend this year.

(Posted May 2, 2025) To refer others to the post above only (and not the full Lowdown column) you can use this URL:
https://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2025/dailyposts/0502.htm

*****