Domain Name Wire Podcast

One of the fastest-innovating companies in the domain space is Atom. Some might say it releases new features too fast, making it difficult to keep up.

But some of the features and tweaks it has made this year are examples of why you need to try new things.

On today's show, Atom CEO Darpan Munjal discusses some things the company has tried this year and the results so far. He also shares what percentage of the company's domain sales revenue is now .ai (it's shocking!), how big a deal payment plans have become, and much more.

Also: New CEO at Sedo, a ccTLD relaunch, and more

Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers

Is it possible to hand register domain names and turn a profit? Or are all of the good domains already taken?

On today's show, domain investor Josh Reason walks through the process he used to register 7,500 domain names last year. He's already turned a profit on the domains, proving there are still opportunities to hand-register domains.

It took some elbow grease, though. Grab a pen and paper to take notes as Josh explains the exact steps he took to identify domain names with high resale potential.

I followed this method recently to pick up 100 domains for myself after recording the interview.

Also: IONOS and Team Internet release earnings, a monster UDRP

Sponsor: Spaceship

This week, I sit down to chat with Michael Reidl, CEO of Team Internet Group (London AIM; TIG).

You might not know that company by name, but you've probably heard of some of its brands. The company owns domain registrars including Moniker, traffic monetization businesses such as ParkingCrew, and provides backend registry services for TLDs such as .co and .xyz.

We have a wide-ranging discussion about the domain name business, including how monetization is changing. Michael also shares what he sees on the horizon as the top level domain name application window opens up for the first time in over a decade.

And, of course, no discussion would be complete without talking about how AI might impact domain names.

Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

It's back! Two of our most popular guests on the Domain Name Wire podcast are domain investors Mark Levine and Logan Flatt.

On today's show, Mark and Logan provide details about their domain investing results in 2025. You'll learn where they are acquiring domains, what type they are buying, how they're pricing them and how they're selling them.

Grab a pencil and paper, because you'll want to take notes.

Also: Escrow.com data, ICANN85, Dominion, and new TLD tool

Sponsor: Namecheap

A year ago Nova Registry, the company behind .link, announced that it planned to apply for 200 top level domain names in the round that opens this year.

Today, Vaughn Liley, general manager of Nova Registry, comes on the show to give an update about the company's plans. We have a wide ranging conversation about running top level domains, how the 2026 round will be different from last time, the policy behind web3 integration, and much more.

Also: GoDaddy and Escrow earnings, premium domains

Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers

By now, you've surely heard about the record-shattering $70 million sale of ai.com.

After the sale was announced, there were many erroneous news reports claiming that the seller had purchased the domain decades ago for $100. This isn't true, and anyone who pays attention to the domain business knows this. About five years ago, Saw.com brokered the sale of the domain, and this was widely reported in the press.

On today's show, Saw.com founder Jeff Gabriel provides details on the previous sale of the valuable domain name and how the artificial intelligence market has changed since then. Also, I dig into the numbers a bit: the domain was bought and sold with cryptocurrency, so the seller's return wasn't quite what it seems. (But still, nothing to sneeze at!)

Jeff also shares data about which countries and states are the most likely to convert to sales when you receive leads. This is valuable information!

Also: GoDaddy's crazy terms, UDRP decline, and tax form relief

Sponsor: Spaceship SellerHub

This month's Super Bowl featured a lot of great commercials, including one that the entire domain name industry can get behind. Squarespace's commercial featured actress Emma Stone, who searches and finds out that EmmaStone.com is taken. The ad tells people to get their domain before it's gone.

While EmmaStone.com was taken, Stone acquired the domain late last year.

On today's show, the domain broker who helped make that happen, Brian Harbin of Grit Brokerage, tells the story of how the deal came together.

We also talk about some of the other Super Bowl commercials and the domains in them, including ai.com.

Videos mentioned in this episode:

Super Bowl commercial extended cut

The Negotiation

A Message from Emma Stone

Sponsor: Sav.com domain auctions

About one year after retiring from GoDaddy, Bob Mountain is back in the domain industry as the Chief Commercial and Revenue Officer for D3 Global.

On today's show, Bob explains why he believes in D3's mission of marrying the DNS with blockchain technology. He discusses how this can benefit both domain investors and registrars.

Also: Verisign's plans, Emma Stone, Bed Bath & Beyond, .ai price increase and more

Sponsor: Sell your domains with Sav.com domain landers

After a year of strong growth at its domain name registrar, Unstoppable Domains is looking forward to building on the momentum in 2026.

On today's show, Unstoppable CEO Matthew Gould explains the company's strategy, and why he Unstoppable Domains will continue to attract domain investors.

Matthew also discussed the Unstoppable's plans to apply for new top level domain names with ICANN this year.

Also: Mtn is back, Monaco rolls the dice, .AI hits new heights.

Sponsor: Sav.com backorders

Earlier this month, Internet Commerce Association held its annual meeting in Las Vegas. As I often do at domain events, I walked around with a recorder to get peoples' thoughts about domain names.

On today's show, you'll hear from people about the state of the market, giving their thoughts about the meeting, and talking about new domain services.

Also: Domain parking, hidden gems, and cybersquatting lawsuits

Sponsor: Sav.com domain transfers