Cryptoverse: Trading names in a mind-boggling crypto craze

NFT Traders Ask….What’s the Value of a Name?

A new NFT trading craze where names are bought and sold for colossal sums is providing a multi-million-dollar lifeline for speculators struggling through a bleak crypto winter.

This new breed of NFTs consist of “domain” names that owners can use to replace the jumble of 16 random numbers and letters that form their digital wallet addresses. Recently coin.crypto sold for $100,000 and beer.eth garnered $39,000.

This may seem a lot of money for the crypto equivalent of a vanity wallet name, yet the market for these alternative assets is providing rich – and risky – holdings for investors who are scooping up buzzy domains with the aim of flipping them for a profit in the future.

“We have domain names starting at as little as $5. We’ve had some sell for as much as $100,000,” said Matthew Gould, CEO Unstoppable Domains.

According to Dune Analytics, monthly registrations for .eth domain names jumped to over 433,000 in September, the highest in the past 12 months and a 5,000% increase from a year ago.

What’s a Name Worth?

Crypto domains are still in their infancy and there is no guarantee they, or Web3, will live up to their potential. The highly volatile nature of cryptocurrency and NFT markets is perilous for all involved.

Still, there are indications of some investor confidence that digital assets linked to .eth domain names will grow in value. The ENS project’s crypto token soared nearly 90% in the third quarter to $15.92. This remains a far reach from the $40 it was trading at the beginning of the 2022.