NEW EXCHANGE TO DRIVE SECONDARY DOMAIN NAME MARKET
'Global Domain Name Exchange' - GDNX - to Bring Order to Resale Market
Mar Del Plata, Argentina - April 8, 2005 - Drawing on the design of stock
exchanges that provide secure, trusted and structured markets for buyers and
sellers of publicly traded stocks, the new Global Domain Name Exchange (GDNX)
has been launched to bring standardized business practices to the secondary
domain name marketplace.
The breadth and depth of the GDNX market allows buyers and sellers to realize
the best value for the exchange of domain names and to benefit from the lowest
transaction costs. GDNX is also designed to preserve and protect existing
relationships and contractual protections between registrars and registrants.
"The GDNX is born out of the steadily growing desire over the last few years for
a more universal, transparent and competitive market to exchange
previously-registered Internet domain names of all types,” said Tony Farrow,
recently appointed GDNX CEO. "It is clear that the market for
previously-registered names has grown so large, so diverse and so important to
the health of the industry that it demands an open exchange to bring together
the largest-possible number of buyers and sellers, and the largest variety of
names and TLDs. The GDNX ensures all domain name registrants and registrars are
fully protected by existing trusted relationships and contractual protections,
including those required by ICANN."
Farrow was recruited to the new GDNX post by Pool.com, currently the world’s
leading provider of secondary domain names and whose industry-leading
technology will power the GDNX. Farrow brings more than 15 years of extensive
leadership experience in the technology sector to the GDNX from across a
variety of key disciplines including telecommunications, venture capital and
business-to-business software.
The secondary domain name marketplace, valued over $100 million annually,
includes domain names that have expired, as well as those that current owners
want to sell. Still in its infancy, the market has yet to be standardized,
leaving buyers and sellers splintered and subjecting prices to the price
vagaries inherent in thin markets.
Controversies have at times accompanied the growth of the secondary domain name
market - reflected in proposals by companies like VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN). By
serving the resale, expiry and deletion elements of the secondary domain name
market in one exchange, the GDNX can offer the most efficient solution with
optimized valuations and significantly lower transaction costs.
"The secondary domain name market is large and growing," said Farrow. "And it
needs dynamic and effective mechanism to serve its growth. The GDNX provides a
clearing house for the industry with simplified, standard practices that
benefit all of its participants."
The GDNX operates virtually, with member registrars serving as the public access
to the market. Through their registrars, people will now have access to all
available domains including valuation estimates and traffic analysis data. They
also have the option of three different formats to conduct GDNX transactions:
fixed price, auction and bid models. Buyer and sellers will each be assessed a
two percent transaction fee for each domain which trades on the exchange.
"This industry needs the power and benefits of an open platform and a level
playing field," said Farrow. "The GDNX is the next logical step in the
evolution of domain name registration, creating a foundation for this market to
fully develop in accordance with the standards and practices which have driven
the Internet’s success to date."
About The Global Domain Name Exchange
The Global Domain Name Exchange (GDNX) is the global marketplace for exchanging
active, expired or deleted internet domain names. Offering a variety of dynamic
auction formats, the GDNX provides buyers and sellers with the broadest
possible market, the best value and the lowest transaction costs. Membership in
the GDNX is open to ICANN-accredited registrars and registries, with public
buying and selling in the GDNX enabled through GDNX members. Existing
registrar-registrant contracts and relationships provide buyers and sellers
with the advantages and protections of existing trusted relationships. The
exchange is located at www.gdnx.org.
More information about the GDNX is available at www.gdnx.org
or by e-mail from info@gdnx.org.
The Global Domain Name Exchange (GDNX) is an exchange created for and supporting
the valuation and transfer of previously registered or held domain names. Its
membership is open to ICANN-accredited registrars and registries. Requests for
information about participating in the GDNX can be found at
www.gdnx.org, or by e-mail at info@gdnx.org.
It was formed on the basis of a grant from Momentous.ca.
Media Contacts:
Marcie Hatch
Zeno Group for GDNX.org
marcie.hatch@zenogroup.com
+1.415.369.8120