I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2022. Looking back at 2021 there were a few 3 letter combinations, the Metaverse and Swetha that dominated the news in 2021.
NFT
Non fungible tokens, made a huge impact in 2021, some prominent domain investors swifted some or all of their attention to the NFT market. People like Shane Cultra, Jonathan Tenenbaum, Alan Dunn, the Booth brothers really kicked some major ass in 2021. Paradise Trippies is off to a good start with guys like Shane and the Block’s as prominent contributors.
When it comes to domain name sales, we saw several NFT sales.
Some of these sales were recent handregs. NFTDex.com sold for $25,000 at Sedo. Very impressive for a hand reg that was only 15 months old. A two month old hand reg. CenterNFT.com sold for $4,999 at NamePull.com.
Back in June I wrote about NFT3.com selling for $50,000 at Sedo. The domain name was registered in 2017 and dropped after one year. It was then registered in 2019 and dropped after one year.
Third time was the charm after two Chinese registrants allowed the domain name to drop. There is now a site up on NFT3.com.
NFT exact match sales totaled 14:
| nft.com | 2,000,000 USD | 2021-02-21 | Private |
| nft.app | 50,000 USD | 2021-03-03 | DAN.com |
| nft.rentals | 8,150 USD | 2021-11-02 | Sav.com |
| nft.ca | 6,500 USD | 2021-10-24 | UnicDomains |
| nft.business | 5,050 USD | 2021-12-04 | Sav.com |
| nft.holdings | 4,400 USD | 2021-12-04 | Sav.com |
| nft.page | 4,161 USD | 2021-12-26 | Docky.ly |
| nft.win | 3,100 USD | 2021-11-07 | Sedo |
| nft.info | 3,023 USD | 2021-01-28 | Sedo |
| nft.bio | 2,275 USD | 2021-11-03 | Dynadot |
| nft.baby | 2,000 USD | 2021-12-25 | Catched.com |
| nft.green | 1,075 USD | 2021-11-19 | Dynadot |
| nft.boutique | 1,010 USD | 2021-10-20 | Sav.com |
| nft.bar | 116 USD | 2021-04-08 | Sav.com |
ETH
The ticker symbol for cryptocurrency Ethereum was on fire in 2021.Some prominent domain investors have made sales with this keyword including, Mark Levine and Logan Flatt. Not many sites up and running on these yet and I really want to see ETH.hockey.
In total 22 exact match sales:
| eth.co | 300,000 USD | 2021-05-23 | MagnumDomains |
| eth.club | 200,000 USD | 2021-09-14 | Domaincracy |
| eth.cm | 112,800 USD | 2021-12-25 | Nam.es |
| eth.paris | 50,000 USD | 2021-11-09 | Domain Smoke |
| eth.website | 50,000 USD | 2021-09-30 | Sedo |
| eth.gg | 49,995 USD | 2021-04-11 | Media Code LLC |
| eth.green | 45,000 USD | 2021-11-21 | Dynadot |
| eth.black | 30,000 USD | 2021-12-19 | Dynadot |
| eth.pink | 30,000 USD | 2021-12-19 | Dynadot |
| eth.id | 14,286 USD | 2021-09-13 | Sedo |
| eth.digital | 14,199 USD | 2021-11-21 | Dynadot |
| eth.cards | 10,451 USD | 2021-10-25 | Sedo |
| eth.photography | 4,999 USD | 2021-09-13 | DomainTheory |
| eth.boats | 3,999 USD | 2021-09-13 | DomainTheory |
| eth.hockey | 3,999 USD | 2021-09-13 | DomainTheory |
| eth.help | 3,500 USD | 2021-02-04 | Sedo |
| eth.photo | 2,999 USD | 2021-09-13 | DomainTheory |
| eth.baby | 2,200 USD | 2021-10-18 | Sedo |
| eth.pictures | 2,010 USD | 2021-11-20 | Sav.com |
| eth.gift | 1,597 USD | 2021-11-29 | Dynadot |
| eth.reviews | 958 USD | 2021-11-08 | Dynadot |
| eth.so | 134 USD | 2021-01-11 | Dynadot |
XYZ
.Com is the undisputed king of domain name extensions, but one upstart came back from the depths of only 14 reported sales in 2019. Namebio reported 563 .xyz sales in 2021. Web3 companies have embraced the extension, TechCrunch just wrote an article a couple of days ago delving into this development.
Square becoming Block.xyz was a boost for the extension in the minds of some. It spurred more buying action.
.Com only investors like Elliot have dipped their toe in the .xyz pool. It remains to be seen if this pace keeps up. If investors raise the price of .xyz names, will these new startups move to another extension like .site or .link for example.
I am no way suggesting they will but you need to keep an open mind that with so much choice, if the prices get so high to acquire, then you could see another not so new gtld gain traction.
If in 2019 I told you aperture.xyz will sell for $19,888 with the plural in .com only going for $1,600, I bet I would have gotten a lot of betting action on that. I probably could have gotten 100:1 odds as well.
It’s not all champagne and roses either, some might find challenges to using a .xyz.
Gordon Hempton is the CEO of Spot Virtual did a blog post that is important for domain investors and businesses alike. Gordon detailed some of the problems he ran into with using the name Spot.xyz.
Swetha
No discussion of .xyz can take place without mention of the Queen of .xyz. Swetha from DNGear.com/Swetha.xyz had a year for the ages. At the end of November I interviewed her and got the details on what she owns and what her plans are moving forward. She shares more than most and many have been appreciative of her sharing.
Swetha dominated the top 20 in 2021 for .xyz domain name sales:
| glow.xyz | 79,888 USD | 2021-12-25 | Swetha.xyz |
| quest.xyz | 69,888 USD | 2021-09-16 | Swetha.xyz |
| alliance.xyz | 50,000 USD | 2021-11-18 | Swetha.xyz |
| nomad.xyz | 49,000 USD | 2021-12-03 | hypernames.co |
| stir.xyz | 39,888 USD | 2021-10-27 | Swetha.xyz |
| collective.xyz | 37,000 USD | 2021-12-03 | Swetha.xyz |
| squid.xyz | 34,888 USD | 2021-10-12 | Swetha.xyz |
| drop.xyz | 30,000 USD | 2021-07-16 | DAN.com |
| agora.xyz | 27,888 USD | 2021-09-22 | Swetha.xyz |
| flip.xyz | 27,888 USD | 2021-09-09 | Swetha.xyz |
Meta
Meta crazy in 2021, people have been registering meta related names in droves. Facebook rebranding to Meta helped take things to another level. People hand regged names like MetaFb.net and sold them for $30,000. MyMetaFarm.com sold for $6,200 at Dynadot and was created on 2021-08-26.
Exact match meta sales totaled 16:
| meta.so | 149,000 USD | 2021-10-05 | hypernames.co |
| meta.io | 100,000 USD | 2021-03-30 | Park.io |
| meta.lc | 20,000 USD | 2021-09-30 | ShowMeDomains |
| meta.monster | 19,000 USD | 2021-12-13 | Catched.com |
| meta.equipment | 14,600 USD | 2021-10-26 | Sav.com |
| meta.stream | 10,001 USD | 2021-12-19 | NameCheap |
| meta.best | 10,000 USD | 2021-09-13 | MrPremium.com |
| meta.mba | 7,200 USD | 2021-11-15 | Sav.com |
| meta.bargains | 7,050 USD | 2021-10-26 | Sav.com |
| meta.cloud | 5,000 USD | 2021-07-26 | Sedo |
| meta.cd | 3,708 USD | 2021-11-09 | Sedo |
| meta.cheap | 3,550 USD | 2021-11-28 | Sav.com |
| meta.fm | 1,500 USD | 2021-08-07 | Catched.com |
| meta.cash | 820 USD | 2021-09-20 | Dynadot |
| meta.finance | 467 USD | 2021-05-02 | Dynadot |
| meta.global | 155 USD | 2021-08-23 | Dynadot |
Metaverse registered 7:
| metaverse.io | 175,000 USD | 2021-03-05 | Park.io |
| metaverse.one | 20,000 USD | 2021-07-27 | DomainNameCloud.com |
| metaverse.xyz | 9,888 USD | 2021-02-28 | Swetha.xyz |
| metaverse.holdings | 5,850 USD | 2021-12-10 | Sav.com |
| metaverse.team | 906 USD | 2021-09-07 | Sav.com |
| metaverse.vegas | 888 USD | 2021-10-07 | Boldnames.co |
| metaverse.page | 155 USD | 2021-08-09 | Docky.ly |
Sedo published their most searched keywords for November. NFT and Meta made the list. Variations and other similar names have fared well too, to end the year Petaverse.com went for $39,999 at GoDaddy auctions. A metaverse for pets?
Looking back and forward
I think 2021 was a year to really make a lot of money, but a lot of that money was in niches new for many or where people were skeptical, every day people tell me NFT’s are a ponzi, a bubble, a joke. But I also know plenty of people who made real money and cashed out, that money is real in their bank accounts. I owned no NFT’s in 2021, I missed that boat, at first I felt like what? Ok, I need to understand this stuff and as I was getting educated the prices just kept running away. I am interested in that market and will assess it more in 2022.
It’s going to be interesting in 2022 if people chase the NFT, ETH, Meta, Xyz trends, or if they look for new niches. Will the stars of 2021 perform in 2022? There is a lot of FOMO out there, in December checking in on people there were a couple who told me they had abandoned hope. One told me that they could not understand solid .coms they own not selling and someone handregging MetaFb.net and getting $30,000. He told me he contemplated suicide because he could just not understand business anymore, how a jpeg sells for $69m and he knows people who can’t sell what he perceives valuable for a fair price.
It’s complicated, I think there are many that don’t understand Web3 others want it to be or hope it is a bubble. A long time acquiantance told me at least a dozen times he prays, actually gets down on his knees and prays that crypto collapses. I tell him every time that is not a healthy outlook but it does not seem to matter.
You either decide the game is changing and you want to participate and learn the new game, or you do not participate, stick to what you know, there are plenty of ways to make money, none of them are easy. The digital space is crowded in every niche. You need to decide what works for you at what level of investment and risk.
Don’t take anyone’s success in 2021 as a guarantee of success for you in 2022 or beyond, do your homework and don’t get discouraged. Reach out to people, there are many in this business that will help you, they are not going to hand you cash, which I have found some consider that the only form of help they want. It’s been a long year, I hope all our readers have a healthy and prosperous 2022. Stay safe and always be learning something new.
MV short for Metaverse will be big in 2022. Also look out for .mv extension too gaining traction. http://www.paris.mv a prime example of future Metaverse registrations.
Great article, you have always been my favorite writer in this industry you’re the only person I ever see show compassion in their posts
I do think the road is difficult for many investors that weren’t quick enough to get in on some of these niches and you just hope they don’t pay up for bad names just to be part of the cool crowd
happy New Year Raymond
Great read.
Year to year, a new trend takes hold and smart domainers cash in.
Still, dot-Com with dictionary and commercial meaning continues to reign supreme. (dot.com) is the skybox of digital investing, I like the view.
Only (.com) for me, but good to see domainers succeeding in other extensions and other digital assets.
TheDomains.com-
You are the winner of Domain Information Journalism Award for 2021
You sure provide good info about Domains….
thanks
Domaining to me is just having fun- a stress free hobby and when you are having fun making money is not the top priority but I still make the money ….
I will stick to my old school of business investing–stocks—Tesla,Microsoft,Amazon, HomeDepot …
EV will be huge in 2022…
How is spending money and not making any of that back fun?
Learning + Hope.
The cost of an experience is in proportion to that learned, if one lets it be. Only take positive insights from things as negative ones aren’t worth the money.
The futures an empty page, for all. Whether that gives you fuzzies or not costs nothing, angles are free.
This is the starting line, not the finishing. The future is yet to be written,
Good luck for 2022 everybody, but above all stay healthy. Natures your 247 friend who is always there for you.
Good advice Raymond.
Easy for some to overlook how shiny technology, Industry disruption & shifts in consumer behavior are where the value in their domains originate. The arc of a #curve can @confuse until it’s the joe-norm123
Wishing a healthy 2022 to all. For some, it may even be prosperous.
Thanks for detailed stats, Raymond.
I agree with you we have to observe what is present trend…and which one will have some demand in near future…and invest accordingly.
I am sorry to hear someone thinking about suicide…they definitely need to talk to someone who can help to change their thinking. selling or not selling is one thing for domain investors…for that matter its applicable to any service/product there will always be up and down in our business…about nft and the prices they are not same as domains and the present market is riding on hype wave and we should not see that as a standard or a benchmark.
people who were able to invest in nft…got returns multifolded. if you can’t join that group stick to your old niche where you have some experience. don’t lose hope and learn from the market trends.
Good luck to all.