UNR, Uni Naming & Registry, is Frank Schilling‘s holding company of the original Uniregistry gTLDs. Yesterday, it announced the upcoming auction of its top level domains.
We covered that announcement yesterday, and today UNR—a DomainGang sponsor—sent out a press release:
UNR.com – Uni Naming & Registry
UNR to Make History with Largest Ever Top Level Domain Name Auction Event on April 28, 2021
23 Domain Endings, Including .LINK & .GAME, to be Offered with No Reserve
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Uni Naming & Registry (“UNR”), a leading domain name registry operator and backend services provider, announced today that it will be holding a one-day auction event for ownership rights to 23 Top Level Domains (“TLDs”) it operates. The event will consist of separate no-reserve auctions for each of the 23 assets, giving bidders the flexibility to only acquire the Top Level Domains that fit their strategies or budgets. To give bidders complete confidence in this fully-transparent event, the auctions will be conducted by industry-leader Innovative Auctions, who has consistently proven itself as the de facto clearinghouse for this asset class, and the founders of UNR will not be bidding.
Due to their scarcity, the sale of even one TLD on the open market is considered extraordinary. These fundamental building blocks of the internet are online real estate that rarely trade hands – and almost exclusively via closed or private transactions. Even industry insiders are typically caught off guard when transactions around Top Level Domains occur. UNR is breaking new ground with this auction event due to both its scale and accessibility. For the first time ever, the general public will have the ability to acquire any of these highly-coveted assets in an a-la-carte purchase format:
.audio, .blackfriday, .christmas, .click, .country, .diet, .flowers, .game, .guitars, .help, .hiphop, .hiv, .hosting, .juegos, .link, .llp, .lol, .mom, .photo, .pics, .property, .sexy, .tattoo
The move to sell its Top Level Domain portfolio follows UNR’s decision to singularly focus on its growing registry services division and IP rights protection technology, which already supports numerous third-party gTLDs and ccTLDs. In an effort to democratize TLD ownership to businesses, individuals, and groups outside of the domain name industry, UNR will offer winning bidders the option of subscribing to its “Registry in a Box” and Trustee services, or to move their extensions to the service provider of their choosing. Optional consulting is also available to help newcomers navigate ICANN policies, transition planning, and business development functions.
“Over the last 20 years, I have established myself as both an active buyer and seller across the entire domain name ecosystem. The UNR TLDs have been stronger performers within my diverse investment portfolio, and it is now time to reinvest that value into our core business as a dedicated registry services provider,” said Frank Schilling, Founder and CEO of UNR. “I’ve always been an innovator who has tried to move the industry forward for the next generation of participants. This event is truly unprecedented in its scale and in the magnitude of the opportunity available to participating bidders.”
In a similar but more certain way to owning a regular domain name, auction winners will receive full ownership rights and control of the Top Level Domains won at auction, including their debt-free and royalty-free subscription-based revenue streams. Purchasers will have the ability to further develop the extensions, manage all registry-reserved and premium names, and register and use unlimited domains within their namespaces. Winning bidders are free to implement their own business models to innovate, serve registrants, and grow the namespaces, without limitations by the seller.
Like other TLD sales, UNR’s auctions will not affect website uptime for registrants, disrupt registrar connectivity, change domain name availability, or impact any other registry obligations or policies. All third-party TLDs on UNR’s backend, including .trust and .ky, will continue operating without any changes in ownership or management.
For more information about UNR’s auction event on April 28, 2021, or to register to bid in this never to be repeated event, please visit https://auction.link.
CONTACT: Shayan Rostam, s@unr.com
SOURCE Uni Naming & Registry
Related Links
https://unr.link
