Early goldrush? Are the .io domains the new bitcoin?

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.io domains were released in the late 90s by early 2010s began gaining momentum in the start up world 2013 was the first real year it was really widley accepted as a tld even consider besides .com .net and .org


do you guys think we are still early in the .io boom or will it be a complete bust? its still early but many startups have gotten millions of funding the start sites with io domains even fortune 500 companies are snapping up these names.


look at bitcoin few years ago was literally nothing and a few pennys per coin. now widely accept and a billion dollar industry and an upward cost of $200 per coin. even fortune 500 companies are in the bitcoin industry now.


let me know what you think? are we in the crosshairs of a io domain boom like we saw with bitcoins years ago?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #bitcoin #domains
  • My personal opinion . . .

    No, we are not "still early in the .io boom." There never was an .io boom and probably never will be.

    Dot com is the way to go if you have a commercial business. All other things being equal, dot com is the most trusted and most valuable tld extension.

    BitCoin, IMO, is still in it's "tulip" days.

    Steve
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies


    • you could say that. but tons of companies are getting millions of funding with and using .io domains. in a few years who knows those companies could turn into bigger companies worth even more. only bringing more recognition to the .io extnsions. right now its definatly not widely accepted among the masses but who knows right? of course this is pure speculation. anyone on here heavy in io domain investing want to share their insights?


      a few years ago people were saying the same thing about bitcoin how it will just crash and fail and no one would use it. look at it today. seems just like over the course of a few months it gained so much traction it just skyrocketed into the industry it is today. I cant tell the future but a lot of the same signs are happening to this extensions its hard to ignore.
    • .io has a high chance of failure now that domainers are involved and hoarding. The hoarding is why literally everything outside of .com, .net, .org and major ccTLD have previously failed.

      Developers unwilling to pay domainer prices (which is everyone who developed out a .io) didn't have full reign over .io long enough to get it up over the hump. I think if it could have flown under the domainer radar for 2-3 more years, the odds of a full scale development boom would have increased.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • No. Simply, no.
  • Found this really great post about it on flippa


    The reason .io domains are so valuable is because companies that use .io domains are known as being great at what they do. explains it well:
    "These new .io sites are almost artisanal in nature - small, well crafted and functional. It's like a TLD for techies with taste."
    They are also short, sound good, and .io domains perform well in Google's search results. .
    , , and , sports.io, mega.io, and groups.io recently sold for $10k+.
    A lot of the tech startups that use .io domains are now very successful businesses, further reinforcing the idea that companies that use .io domains are "in the know" and part of the sophisticated tech crowd.
    Check out just some of these examples:
    • and
    • And many more
    But it's not only startups that use .io domains. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are also buying .io domains.
    . , , and , amongst others.
    Even .
    Blog posts have been written on the new-found popularity of .io domains. Such as this post: .
    Wikipedia also notes:
  • hahaha NO! there never was a boom regardless of the hype and bit coins are like an exclusive club among people who like to spend money on stupid stuff. Trust me bit coins aren't worth anything because the masses don't have it and it isn't integrated with other developing countries. It is a hobby.

    YOU want a good BOOM idea, look at developing countries.
    It doesn't matter who bought what at what price. Remember a domain is only worth as much as the buyer is willing to pay for it.
  • in the internet age, you can find some data to support nearly any hypothesis.

    i would put the chances of there being any sort of meaningful .io boom slightly below the chances of you winning the powerball lottery....2 times in one year.

    a few million dollars is pocket change to the billions being invested into startup .com's...that isn't about to change.
  • Never invest in such type of Io domains and you will be looser because of less valuable for reselling.
    Getting branded names on that tld is easy but you wont make great amount.
    • [1] reply
    • I guess anything is possible. All I see is just another top level country code domain.

      With the release of all the new domain extensions, chances are dot io will get lost in the shuffle.
  • Bitcoin is down to $250 or so from $800 in 12 months. Its not what I'd use as example of making profits.
  • So....
    while the OP appears unwilling to listen,

    The consensus here seems to be - Yes both are destined for a similar fate.
  • I have no interest at all in .io and I don't see why anyone would. Having said that, I love the new TLDs and have quite a collection of .email, .report, .club etc. My point of view is that 99.9999999999999% of the good .coms are long gone so we must look elsewhere. But that's just me, your mileage may vary.
    • [2] replies

    • I don't agree. I believe there are lots of wonderful dot com names still available in every niche. You just have to be a little creative and use the tools available to suggest names you've never thought of. Try Impossibility and Lean Domain Search.

      But if what you say were true . . . all the more reason (scarcity and supply vs. demand) to suggest that dot coms are preferable and the most valuable of all the extensions.

      Steve
    • A few years ago, I sold one of my .com domains for $350. The reason why the guy paid so much is because it was the name of his business.
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    • Specifically .info went nowhere because they were selling them for $1 per domain for a long time. Spammers bought thousands of info domains, and then people looked at them same as they look at free domains, like .tk.
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  • I think the original domain extensions like .com, .net and .org will always be the most valuable. These new extensions will only have a significant value if they're an actual word like Gold.io or Bikes.io.
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