Welcome to the Domain Name Wire podcast. I'm your host, Andrew Alleman, and this is episode number 510. It is Thanksgiving week in the United States. I know a lot of people are taking time off, and later on this week, the big shopping day, right? Black Friday will be here. And that means we're almost to the end of the year. So I thought this week, because it's a holiday week, we go back in time a year and listen to the 2024 predictions episode.
I have a predictions episode every year and last year, 25 people made their predictions for 2024. Now, we aren't often held accountable for our predictions, so we're going to go back and listen to all 25 of these predictions. and see who was right and who was wrong. And of course, stay tuned for later in December or early January when we'll have our 2025 predictions episode. First, a word from our sponsor.
Many thanks to Sav.com for sponsoring the podcast this year. This week, let's talk about their for sale pages. If you're paying high commissions on domain sales elsewhere, switch to Sav and save. You pay just a 4% commission. You heard that right, just 4% when your domain names sell through Savlanders. If your domains are at Sav, they transfer instantly.
It's easy to list and they have very fast payouts. In fact, if you sell a lot of domains with Sav, they even offer instant payouts. Learn more at sav.com slash dnw slash sell. That's sav.com slash dnw slash sell. Well, normally at this point on the podcast, we go through some of the news from the past week, but I recorded this episode early, so I don't have any news to report yet.
But I do guarantee you I wrote some interesting, fascinating, as always, stories on Domain Name Wire last week. So go check those out at dnw.com. But now let's hear these 25 predictions that people made for 2024. Hi. This is Adam Eisner, Vice President of .ca and Registry Services at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, also known as CIRA. The biggest surprise to me in 2023 was how quickly the business environment regressed to pre-pandemic levels.
It seems registrars and registries everywhere are once again facing similar challenges as they were in 2018, but now with an added layer of volatility because of a rapidly shifting economic environment. Looking ahead to 2024? I expect that volatility will continue as registrars, registries, domainers, and players of all types in the space try to figure out what impact shifts in things like interest rates, employment rates, and business starts.
are ultimately going to have on the sale of domain names and related services. I would also be remiss if I didn't note that crypto will continue to secure a growing rate of money and conversation in this space. though I still think it remains to be seen whether blockchain domains can solve a consumer problem that's big enough for mass market adoption.
And finally, expect domain name abuse to continue its rise to the forefront of domain name conversations as both GTLDs and CCTLDs wrestle with more noise, regulation, and cases to resolve in the space. Thanks to Andrew for having me on the show and best wishes to everyone for a fantastic 2024. Hello from Bill Sweetman of Name Ninja.
The one thing that surprised me the most in our industry in 2023 was seeing and hearing about lots of six figures, seven figure, and even some eight figure domain name purchases by end users. of one word dot com domains, despite the fact, you know, the global economy was in really rough shape and the venture capital funding was lower than it's been in ages. So that was just remarkable and a positive sign for the industry. As for my 2024 predictions, I've got a few.
I think that .ai domains are going to continue to have a moment. It may or may not be a bubble, but if you thought December's .ai expiry auction was on fire, wait until what you see in the new year. And speaking of CCTLDs, we might see another CCTLD get popular, at least for a while, thanks to the AI boom. So that might be something like .ml or .im. Or even one of the new TLDs like .bot. I also think that blockchain domains or Web3 domains or crypto domains, whatever you want to call them.
are going to start to see or start to be seen as more legitimate domains and also get more closely integrated and aligned with traditional domains and the traditional sort of I can domain environment. Groups like the Web3 Domain Alliance, I think, are helping to make that progress. And I'm kind of hoping personally that there'll be less lawsuits and less catfighting and more collaboration.
between the Web3 and the Web2 folks. We might also see the implosion of and or more political drama around the very controversial cctld. I owe as the original inhabitants of that island nation assert their claim to what is rightfully theirs. I also, well, I predict or I certainly hope there's going to be a new escrow platform emerging.
whether it's licensed or otherwise. I think, you know, the more competition in the escrow space, the better for all the players, although it's more of a wish than a prediction. And finally... I think that someone is going to roll out an AI domain brokerage, which will be fun to see how that works. But I can also imagine a scenario down the road where a robot broker is unwittingly, unknowingly trying to buy a domain name from a domain investor's robot. So you'll have robot to robot deals.
Have a great 2024. Hi, this is Krista Taylor with TLDs and .TBA. In 2024, I predict the following. 1. While economic concerns have eased since last year, businesses will continue to prioritize customer value and engage in experiments to differentiate themselves. Two, forward-thinking organizations will leverage generative AI to elevate customer experiences and drive unparalleled business value.
3. The persistent shortage of GPU chips will remain a challenge, with sustainability emerging as a prominent concern. 4. The importance and pressure of spinning data into insightful gold increases along with the next generation of domain name suggestion spinners. 5. Rapid blockchain adoption and powerful use cases emerge with new blockchain players who will evolve into tomorrow's most valuable companies.
6. Cybersecurity transitions from a mere priority to an absolute necessity due to escalating cyber threats. 7. The rise of AI-powered cyber threats will affect the integrity of the Internet and its usage. 8. Customer trust becomes increasingly more delicate, providing a strategic advantage to organizations who do right by their customers. 9. ICANN begins to address blockchain collisions and the effects on future new GTLDs.
And number 10, the next round of new GTLD applicant support launches, but with a slow initial uptake. As 2023 comes to a close, stay safe, enjoy the holidays, and all the best in 2024. This is Keith DeBoer, founder of the Brandable Insider Podcast. And taking a look at 2023, the biggest surprise for me was the continued decline in brandable domain sales from the euphoric peak of 2021.
My expectation was that sales would stabilize at the more moderate levels we saw in 2022, but instead, sales have been painfully slow, especially in the first half of this year. I do expect, however, that the situation will begin to reverse in 2024. after lingering fears of recession dissipate and put an end to the two-year decline in venture capital spending. I also anticipate Squad Help, Brand Bucket, and Afternick to further compete for quality, brandable inventory and sales.
via innovation, new products, features, and perks for both buyers and sellers. Unfortunately, I also foresee continued obstacles and hardships for new domain investors as the acquisition of sellable domain inventory becomes increasingly difficult and unaffordable.
while profit margins continue to narrow. Lastly, I expect to see an increase in the number of crypto domain sales as Bitcoin enters a new bull market, and I anticipate the moderation of artificial intelligence domain sales after the initial gold rush, especially in our wholesale markets. This is Keith DeBoer wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year. Hi, this is Paul Nix, president of domains at GoDaddy.
The most surprising thing I saw in our industry this year was the exit of Google as a demand registrar. After nine years in the industry, deciding the domains were not core to their long-term business was something that caught me off guard. Also surprising this year was the decline in very large aftermarket deals.
The market seems to have reset to below COVID-driven levels for now, but it is encouraging for the future to see the current trajectory still much higher than the pre-COVID years. As for 2024, I think it predicts to be a similar turning point in the world's broad adoption of AI technology. AI's influence across new and traditional businesses will be the primary story for the year, and companies that lean into that tech will have a massive advantage over those that lag behind.
Using AI to reduce friction and the transition from ideas to reality will bring renewed energy to entrepreneurs, leading to greater focus on domain names as the starting point for establishing an online presence. And just beyond... websites and email, I also see a bridging of traditional domain names with newer Web3 technology to expand on the scalability and security of the traditional DNS system.
and add the exciting utility of blockchain-based digital identities. Hey, Andrew, this is Brian Harbin here with Grit Brokerage. So a key trend... that we observed in 2023 is definitely the explosive growth of .ai domains. The surge is linked to, obviously, exponential growth in artificial intelligence and as more companies delve into AI.
The allure and practicality of .ai domains will definitely continue to grow in 2024. And while some domain extensions popularity can be seen as kind of a flash in the pan. AI isn't just a fleeting trend. It's a significant shift in how businesses align their digital identity alongside their technological focus and .AI domains. Definitely stand to benefit from that.
We anticipate in 2024 that the market for top-tier, concise, memorable, and descriptive .com domains will continue to grow in demand and value. The resilience of these domains appears to be strong regardless of the broader economic challenges as in 2023 we had our second best year in sales despite bank fails, global unrest, and other market uncertainties.
The clarity of one or simple two word dot com domains definitely stand out above the rest. The rise of cryptocurrency prices in anticipation of or after the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. may also be a catalyst to push up demand for premium domains. With 2024 having potential to have distractions around the election, we also believe that companies that eliminate distractions stay dialed in on growth.
on expanding their brand and catapulting their digital footprint, that they will definitely continue to buy and invest in premium domains and assets. Thanks again. Take care. There are two developments I'm looking forward to in 2024. First of all, the dot post ICANN TLD first launched in 2009 is making big changes. They are removing restrictions to allow the private sector to register .post domains. Although mail has become less relevant with the emergence of the internet.
The transport of physical goods is a massive global industry. And their applications such as supply chain, track and trace, national IDs, and stamp NFTs. where the postal sector can reinvent themselves and become part of the internet economy. The second development is that the Ethereum Naming Service, or ENS, promises to eliminate gas fees. for claiming DNS domains in the first quarter. This could open the floodgates for more DNS registries to join .art, hip-hop, box, link, and bond.
and adding blockchain applications to their domains. Other players to watch are Unstoppable Domains, WebUnited, and Namecheap's Namebase Registry. Rayden Pollack here. What surprised me about 2023 is I expected a lot more VCs to fund startups. They're sitting on a lot of dry powder and I expected more of that dry powder to...
to hit the startup world, which would then trickle down to domain names. But a lot of investors were crying, pouring, lighting candles for some sales. You know, luckily I did okay. You know, with bigger sales, there are bigger swings. So I fared all right. In 2024, I hope to see more of those VC dollars making out of the startups, but I think we're in for a bumpy ride with the economy.
Interest rates are still high. They're going to stay high for a while. That's going to affect real estate. I think we're going to see a dip in real estate values and that's going to affect the economy. Buckle up for a bumpy ride. Best of luck in 2024 and happy new year. Hi, this is Shane Coulter of dsad.com and at Shane Coulter on Twitter. And I think I'm joining everybody else here in saying that 2023 was a year of AI.
It affected us in every way, and domains were no different. The prices of AI names skyrocketed, and everybody who participated that had domains and thought early really profited. I think it was also a year where we saw tools and the ability to create content at new levels. So SEO is greatly affected because there's just so much product out there and so easy to produce content.
It's really becoming a time of curation and personalization to stand out from everybody else. And so I think 2024 offers that just as like it did in 2023, perhaps even more. I think domain registrars, I think we see some new. added resources to some existing registrars to compete with GoDaddy as the main registrar. I think I've seen some really good move forward from Dynadot and Namecheap, and I think you see some competition in the registrar realm. I also think that
We're going to have to use our tools to compete. If you don't use the tools that are in front of you, you're going to fall behind, whether it's portfolio management and trying to get your sell-through rates up, curation of your names, money management of your domain portfolio.
I think you're going to need all the tools you can get to make yourself more efficient and more productive because others will be doing it. I think oneword.coms continue to accelerate. Every time one sells, they become more valuable and they do continue to lead the asset class. I think it's going to be an incredible 2024, just like it was in the past year. And we need to really take hold of all that's in front of us. My name is Matt Barry, and I'm the chief executive of escrow.com.
2023 was a little bit surprising because I thought I would see venture capital come back with a vengeance on a par even greater than we saw in the crypto boom. Back in 2021, we saw VC funding in the order of about $200 billion a quarter. At the moment, it's only about $80 billion, so it's quite subdued.
I do expect in the next 12 months that a huge wave of venture financing will come into AI startups. And of course, venture funding is linked to obviously marquee domains being sold at extremely high prices as startups scramble to get the best positioning in the market.
I do think in the next 12 months, we will see that come back with a vengeance. I do think there's a good chance that the funding come back at a much greater level than we saw during the crypto boom. And I do think we'll set some marquee transaction numbers that I think will be very surprising and really knock the lights out. So I think it's a pretty exciting year. I'm looking forward to 2024 and thanks for having me. Hi, this is Kate Buckley, CEO of Buckley Media, soon to be defining.com.
Looking back at 2023, I think it's safe to say that AI dominated the headlines. It's difficult to underestimate the massive impact that AI had on both the world in general and domain names specifically. In 2024, expect the domain industry to continue to evolve thanks to new trends and tech. AI and machine learning could make domain sales smarter and faster. Also, as new tech fields grow,
They'll likely want domains that resonate with these emerging sectors. More companies will realize just how crucial a unique, catchy domain is, accelerating the values of those easy to remember dot coms. We'll probably also see more talk around regulatory discussions on domain governance and how privacy laws affect domain ownership transparency. This is Kate Buckley of Buckley Media, and keep an eye out for our rebrand to defining.com.
Wishing you all happy holidays and a peaceful and prosperous 2024. Hi, this is Matt Overman, Chief Revenue Officer at Identity Digital. Thanks for having me on this year's episode. The biggest stories of 2023 are, first, that toddlers are petri dishes, and I will be sick until 2027. And second, the rise of generative AI. I've been surprised by how quickly it's permeated our industry.
Virtually every registrar is now experimenting with Gen.ai in search. We've seen a large increase in demand for .ai domain names, but the more interesting part is that the tech itself is driving the next wave of innovation in naming and personalized domain recommendations.
In 2024, I predict new TLB growth will significantly outpace the broader market, driven by innovative partnerships and adoption of new use cases. Many of the Web3 domain projects are now more focused than ever on connecting Web2 domains with Web3 capabilities. which is really about creating more utility for domains in general. I expect this to only grow and increase demand for these TLDs. I also anticipate more companies will explore leveraging domain names in both DNS and blockchain technology.
as a central component of online identity and user verification. As this grows, memorable personalized domain choices will be favored. Finally, I expect domains like .link or .bio that are both generic and also perfectly aligned with a use case like a one-page link in bio site to continue to gain traction. Thanks again for having me on and Happy New Year to everyone listening.
Hey, Andrew, this is Giuseppe Graziano, CEO at ggrg.com. What surprised me almost last year, especially towards the end, was the amount and volume of sales for .ai domain names. There are quite a few people in the industry who are being very vocal about the value.ai, and I'm thinking about Andy, for example, and I can see where they're coming from. From my perspective, I believe in the extension.
I think it's completely different from, let's say, .mobi, which did not get any traction whatsoever with end users. But in this case, I do see end users buying .di domain. So I do see the business case for it. At the same time, if you consider the investor perspective, .di domains have such a high carrying cost that the math for most investors will just not add up. But let me give you an example. Assuming you have 1% self-re-rate, which is kind of standard and conservative.
you will need to sell your domains for at least 10x to get about 10% yield per year, which is pretty much what you will get with an ETF. So it's really not that compelling, especially if you buy at this current price that I've seen in the past auctions. But I also predict for 2024 almost an inevitability for large end-user sales for .ai, and that would push a lot of people to go and buy .ai domain names, sometimes at a reasonable price. So the investor level will probably go up.
So let's see. I think it will be an interesting year and I wish you all the best. Hello and happy new year. This is Rick Schwartz, the domain king. A lot of people are in a wait-and-see position. People are concerned about World War III breaking out. People are concerned about a very serious terrorist attack in the United States and around the world. People feel like things are spinning out of control.
and depending on people's thought process. Some people will just spend like a drunken sailor, because it won't matter. And some people will prepare for the worst. It's going to be unsettled either way. I think a lot of deals right now are on hold. But things still move forward and decisions still have to be made. And in that regard, the upgrades to .com domain names from the unrecognizable new extensions that have failed and have been very costly because of consumer confusion and lost traffic.
Especially the great expense of being forced to rebrand after they find out what a big mistake they made will continue to accelerate as more people realize that competing on the internet is paramount and is the focus these days. strategies will begin to become more serious. With the invention of artificial intelligence, it's going to be directly responsible for the demand of great domain names. Countless new entities and products will be coming to market and expansion
is going to be the driving force for years to come. Domain names have had pauses here and there during my 28 years of investing in domains. But the upward trend has never ended. And in recent cases has accelerated. And surprise! This voice memo has actually been recorded with artificial intelligence. This is not my voice. This is the voice of the future.
Hello, this is Ryan McKegney from DomainAgents.com. 2023 was the year that interest in .ai domains exploded. We had seen interest in the names grow steadily for years, but with the rollout of ChatGPT and other large language models, Interest in AI and investment in AI companies took off. It's an open question how and when the hype cycle dies down, as AI becomes an everyday part of everything. But I think AI domains will continue to do great for at least another year.
Inevitably, some of these companies will want to upgrade from their AI domain to a .com, so it's worth keeping an eye on even if you aren't invested in the TLD. 2024 will likely be dominated by the ongoing conflicts in the world. as well as the 2024 American election. A record amount of money will be spent on this election cycle, and some of that will trickle down into domains.
The internet and domains are so ingrained in the modern world that what happens in the larger macro economy is mirrored in the domain industry. But what we have seen with AI domains in the last year does prove that there are always new trends and new opportunities. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open. Here at Domain Agents, we hope that 2024 is safe and prosperous for everyone.
MediaOptions.com and DomainSherpa. I think the thing that surprised me most in 2023 was the resiliency of the market. I was expecting a lot more economic weakness. And yet the market was strong. There was certainly less deals being done, I would say, but higher prices and real strength at the high end of the market. And I think that in 2024, my expectation is something like 2020 for better or worse. I think that we will see some form of a black swan event.
whether that's geopolitical or economic, in the first or the second quarter. And I think we'll see a continuance of the strength of the market up until that point, followed by some form of a black swan event that is ultimately going to... creates some type of crash. And in response to that crash, I think that we're going to see, as they say, money printer go burr. And as that happens and there's stimulus entering the market, I think we're going to see.
a raging bull market in crypto that has historically driven very strong domain sales. I think that we'll see a top in the AI market, not in AI as a market overall, but in the .AI domain name market. I think that people are going to come to the conclusion that there simply isn't going to be a large breadth of AI-specific companies. AI will simply become a ubiquitous technology utilized by all companies.
and therefore making the .ai domain extension somewhat redundant. But I think we are going to see record-breaking .com domain sales. I am seeing a fever pitch awaken in a... ultra premium.com market. We are seeing incredibly strong two letter.com sales and incredibly strong single word.com sales. And I expect to see that rise to new heights in 2024. Thank you. Hi, I'm Michael Robrock, CEO of cedo.com. 2023 was a very volatile year in terms of both geopolitics and economics.
At the very least, there was a decreased number of blockbuster deals versus expectations as access to funds was somewhat reduced. There were more large sales from CCLDs with strong performance as previously predicted from hot trending. dot ai and ai related domains despite all the external circumstances the browser put is solid here when analyzing the day-to-day business on the marketplace especially considering the number of sales
At the time of recording this, we still have close to one month to go and historically, at the end of December, there are some huge sales bursting out of the pipeline. 2024 will be a volatile year again, as world events impact financial flows and therefore domain trading.
Global economies will slow down and for some regions there might be a risk of sinking into a recession. With more than 70 elections, it will be the biggest election year in history. Therefore, companies will increase their focus on Web3. and AI as generative AI becomes dominant in both opinions and the arts. These trends will push trading of related domains higher. OneWord and prescriptive TwoWord.coms will continue to be in high demand as pricing remains a decipher factor.
On marketplaces, keywords considering voice search, keywords from topics around chat, bot, machine learning, as well as renewable energy, defense and aerospace will thrive in 2024. Last but not least, we are looking for some growth from China and India in the next year. The entire CEDA team joins me in wishing you and your families a happy and peaceful holiday season and a prosperous new year.
This is Andrew Miller from Hilco Digital Assets. As always, it is a pleasure to participate in the Domain Namewire review and preview. The thing that most surprised me in 2023 was... really for the first time in over 25 years of me being an investor, founder, advisor on premium, super high-end domain names, to see how tight the venture capital markets became. I've had a few domains where...
Companies that are Series C or Series D have wanted to pay stock versus cash, and that has never happened before. In the past, we've actually asked for stock and not gotten it because cash is always cheaper, which is indicative of the kind of tight state of the... overall investment in financial industries coming out of the last couple of years. I do think in 2024, that's going to start to loosen up and get better and really improve in 2025.
But I think we're going to start to see some more liquidity and investment in 2024, including in premium domain name assets. And I think it's going to be driven by things such as AI, which is obviously the most transformative technology ever. And we sold chat.com for a lot of money, as many know, this year. And I think that shows where AI is headed. It is the key word for that space. So I look forward to a lucrative and more exciting 2024.
Hello, everyone. This is Shane Lehman, Global Industry Relations Manager here at MarkMonitor. Looking back at 2023, it was interesting to see the rise of CCTLDs. During the pandemic and years that followed as the world started to get back to normal, there was a drop in CCTLD registrations. But looking at 2023, CCTLD registration counts are trending upwards.
We anticipate that more organizations are utilizing domains on CCTLDs to reach local consumer bases in the respective regions where they do business. For a specific case, just look at .ai for Anguilla. The CCTLD had a growth north of 75% of registrations based on trends outside of the domain space, with artificial intelligence being a major global trend of 2023. Moving into what's to come for 2024.
Some domain trends are impacted by what's going on in the world. Look at the growth of Web3 domains in 2022 and followed by a slight decline of Web3 domains in early 2023 as the NFT and cryptocurrency markets dropped. and then now seeing trends of growth in Web3 domains again to finish out 2023. Domain blocking will be a big part of 2024, with cooperative domain blocking product offerings between different registry operators.
that could assist brand holders in mitigating brand risk and optimizing their portfolios. Another trend is traditional Web2 registries moving into the Web3 space with examples such as .art and .box operating in the Web3 space now. we could see more registry operators taking a stab at offering their GTLD in that space in the near future. I want to wish everyone a healthy and happy 2024. Thank you.
Hi, this is Tessa Holcomb, founder of Domain Advisors, a boutique brokerage firm specializing in discrete high-value sales and acquisitions. There has been a lot of focus in 2023 on acquiring category-defining domains across some very specific verticals.
including insurance, betting, finance, and health. Geo-targeted domains were more in demand than they have been, and we definitely saw more requests for specific CCTLDs and GTLDs than we have in past years. Having said that, But I do think the higher pricing expectations from dot-com owners... We also saw more companies open to selling high-value category-defining names that they are no longer using, or actually never did use, that they weren't willing to part with in the past.
I feel that 2024 will bring more of the same as lead gen gets more and more competitive. I also see domain owners more willing to negotiate than they were this year, resulting in an increased number of six to seven figure transactions. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season and an amazing 2024.
The domain market becomes increasingly difficult to predict, as the pace of change accelerated year after year. However, domain names remain solid investment, capable of weathering these fluctuations. At InternetX, We have observed high renewal rates and strategic acquisition for over a million dollars. This revealed that organizations are open to invest in high-quality domain names, with a rising demand for premium domains and selected new utilities.
And we can't help but mention the stunning surge of .ai and AI technology that is reshaping the domain industry. Our upcoming global domain report would reveal fascinating insight about this. Looking ahead to 2024, stronger cybersecurity methods are forced in due to growing concern over DNS abuse and incoming legislation like the NISU Directive in the European Union.
This will lead to growing demand for proxy and privacy services that protect domain registrant identities from public view. In the near future, NewGTLD registry will focus more and more on marketing strategies. to set themselves apart in the competitive market in light of the upcoming new GTLD round. Thank you for listening. From all of us at InternetX, we wish you a successful domain business.
Hello, this is Mike Ambrose, co-founder of XYZ, registry operator of 35 new domain endings, including .xyz. The thing that struck me the most in 2023 was an increase in understanding. and knowledge surrounding domain names from all age groups and all industries, really. Just running into strangers at the supermarket or people in an office and...
engaging in conversation regarding technology. I've noticed this trend recently and just in 2023, it's become really strong. And I'm happy to see people actually understand what domain names are and their importance.
And in 2024, I predict that AI will drive more domain registrations, both automatically and manually. I think people will use AI increasingly to... generate new ideas new business names new domain names and also iterate on existing ideas and technologies and so i think ai is extremely promising for the domain industry and Really look forward to 2024 and beyond. And also wanted to wish everyone happy holidays from the crew here at XYZ. Thanks so much. This is Leanne McMahon from Crunch.id.
2023 was quite a year for many, with a lot of movement happening in the very high and very low ends of the market, much less in the middle ground. We did see an uptick in the last few months, thanks to AI, both in the .ai extension.
And with AI as a keyword, and I think that saved a lot of people's year in terms of cash flow. I see that AI trend continuing well into 2024, but with no big changes in the economy, I see the bread and butter sales maintaining their general stagnation for the majority of the year.
One glimmer of hope, however, is the Bitcoin halving event estimated for April 2024. This is when the reward for mining Bitcoin halves and as such lowers the availability of new coins. This only happens once every four years. and historically leads to a crypto bull market both before the halving and in the months after. I feel this will lead to a resurgence of crypto, NFT and Web3 domain name sales both for keywords and extensions these companies love such as .io and .xyz.
Hi, my name is Mike Carson, impervious.com. What I was surprised most about in the domain industry in 2023 is .ai domains are going crazy. I mean, I knew that they would be valuable, but I didn't know that they would be this valuable. But I do expect that that will continue in 2024 and for the next couple of years, probably. I mean, just based on...
What happened with .io seems like it's not going to just go away quickly. So I expected, and with the crypto market rallying next year, probably, I think it'll just get more intense, probably. But yeah, for next year, I think crypto is going to rally next year and go crazy. So I expect that will help domain sales. And I think it's going to be a good year. I also think there's going to be...
some innovation in the blockchain domains. I think it'll be an interesting year for that. So anyway, I hope everyone has a great new year. Hey everyone, it's Doron Format here. I'm a co-founder and COO with FT. The big theme in 2023, without a doubt, artificial intelligence. The technology came so... incredibly far this year i think it was beyond the wildest expectations of many people and it already has changed the way we work and the entire online landscape how people
build products and produce content and so on. As a result, .ai domains had an incredible run. Many investors were already doing quite well in the extension for a couple of years. it has really taken off in a big way during the last six months or so of the year. And I'll expect that to continue within 2024. As for the new year, my prediction is that Generative AI will really reshape search.
So how do we search for and find information on the internet? This will have some impact on domains too. So I expect perhaps a bit less demand for SEO type of domains. You know, domains that are very descriptive or have a lot of backlinks. And more so for memorable, brandable type of domain names. I also think the next crypto bull run will take some major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to new all-time heights.
And this will drive more demand for premium domains. So ultrapremium.coms, but also I think we're going to see some big .xyz sales again in 2024, as well as... .io, and some of the other extensions that are always been popular within the cryptocurrency space, such as .org, but even .network, .finance, and so on. VC funding is recovering a bit.
And I think startups in AI, machine learning, health tech, but also blockchain and cryptocurrencies this year are most likely to attract large investments. Of course, all these companies, they need domains. That's my prediction for the new year. I wish everyone happy holidays. Well, there you have it. 25 people making their predictions for 2024. Who was right? Who was wrong? Send me a note if you have any thoughts on that.
And again, stay tuned. In about a month, we'll have the 2025 predictions episode. That's a wrap on this week's Domain Name Wire podcast. You can listen to all previous episodes at dnw.com slash podcast or on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.