Why Have Crypto Companies Been Acquiring the Best .com’s?

Late 2020 to early 2022 was an auspicious period for the cryptocurrency industry. After a few years, the value of leading cryptocurrencies rocketed, with the global cryptocurrency market cap, touching an all-time high of $3 trillion in November 2021.

As of publishing in July 2022, the crypto market is far from those November 2021 highs. Despite this, a look around the cryptocurrency industry shows a smattering of businesses operating on notable domain names.

Why have some companies used some of their newfound wealth to secure ultra-premium .com domains?

Broader Appeal

The .com domain extension is universally known as the standard-bearer of the Internet age. It is synonymous with the Internet, is recognized as the de facto domain extension, and has wide global usage.

In fact, the largest companies in the US operate on a .com domain. of the 1,000 businesses on the Fortune 1000 list from 2020, 98.7% operated on a .com domain name.

It is also the most popular extension among unicorns, defined as private companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more. Data from June 2022 revealed that 79.8% of unicorn companies operate on a .com domain.

Among the cryptocurrency community, the numbers are much lower. Of the top 350 cryptocurrency companies listed on Crunchbase, just 48% use a .com.

Many crypto ventures opt for a .xyz or a .io domain, with some companies investing six-figure fees on a .xyz or a .io name.

However, if you’re looking to offer a service to a wider audience, which perhaps has had very few dealings with cryptocurrency in the past, operating on a universally known and accepted extension, .com, is logical.

The general public knows the .com extension. It has proven to be the most recognizable domain extension and has been consistently used for over 30 years.

If your customer acquisition strategy involves securing the business of people who are either new to the crypto world, the .com extension is your friend.

A prime example is Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange that reportedly paid $12 million to secure the Crypto.com domain, rebranding from Monaco and the Mona.co domain in 2017.

Crypto.com has heavily invested in offline advertising to attract new cryptocurrency industry participants.

From a $700 million stadium sponsorship to a $100 million advertising campaign starring Matt Damon, Crypto.com has spent heavily on user acquisition featuring its Crypto.com domain.

The offline acquisition efforts have been effective, helping Crypto.com grow from 10 million users in February 2021 to an anticipated 100 million users by 2023.

Its efforts would not have been anywhere near as effective operating as Monaco on the Mona.co domain.

Longevity

One of the strongest arguments for operating a cryptocurrency-related venture on an ultra-premium domain name is longevity.

As internet users, we intrinsically know the power of a premium domain. Even if you’re not familiar with the costs involved in acquiring one, you know they stand out from the crowd. We know that anyone using a one-word .com, for example, cares about their brand.

Along with the recognized power of a premium .com domain, there is an acknowledgment that the company operating on the domain is invested in its brand.

The sentiment of longevity is an essential distinction in the cryptocurrency industry, which is rife with reports of rug pulls, swindles, and deception.

Rug pulls, a malicious maneuver where crypto developers abandon a project and run away with investor funds, have been particularly prevalent. Chainalysis reports that victims of rug pulls lost $2.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2021.

An ultra-premium domain doesn’t automatically suggest that a cryptocurrency-related venture is trustworthy or in it for the long haul, but it does show a dedication to the brand that can’t be ignored.

This dedication to the brand translates into long-term ambitions, usually intending to create a generational business.

Companies operating on the best domain names set themselves apart from the rest. Some of these companies include:

Exodus – Exodus.comBallet – Ballet.comSushi – Sushi.comLedger – Ledger.comCrypto.com – Crypto.comRepublic – Republic.comLiquid – Liquid.comCoinTelegraph – CT.comCurrency.com – Currency.comBlock.one – Bullish.com

Most businesses listed above acquired these ultra-premium domains after launching as a long-term investment in their brand.

Trust

New and experienced participants in the crypto world are naturally cautious about the services they use and where they connect their wallets. There are plenty of cryptocurrency scams out there.

Chainalysis reports that $7.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from victims of scams in 2021. With these statistics easy to cite for the uninitiated, it does underline the necessity to instill trust in your service.

In our On the Record series, founders and entrepreneurs discuss their reasons for acquiring an ultra-premium domain name. Regardless of the industry, trust is mentioned regularly as a perk of owning a top-tier .com domain.

Wealth, an estate planning business, secured Wealth.com before launching in March 2022. Rei Carvalho, Wealth’s chairman, described his reasons for securing the domain name during an On the Record interview.

Among the reasons for buying Wealth.com, Carvhalo mentioned, “One of the main reasons I wanted that domain is because of the trust factor,” noting that consumers would discover the brand through its domain name.

Trust in a brand is important in any industry, but I’d argue that it’s vital if you’re to succeed in the cryptocurrency arena.

An ultra-premium .com domain can be used to quickly establish a company as a trustworthy service, circumventing much of the hard work that would be necessary otherwise.