The domain world looks simple on the surface — but behind every URL is a story of history, money, strategy, and shocking trivia. Here are some powerful, lesser-known facts every domainer should know:
1️⃣ The first .com domain ever was registered in 1985
📅 symbolics.com
It went live on March 15, 1985, officially becoming the first .com domain in history.
2️⃣ Only 6 domains were registered in all of 1985
They were:
- symbolics.com
- bbn.com
- think.com
- mcc.com
- dec.com
- northrop.com
That’s it. The entire .com internet had just six websites.
3️⃣ Domains were free until 1995
Before 1995, anyone could register any domain — for ₹0.
Then Network Solutions started charging $100 for two years.
4️⃣ Google was originally named “BackRub”
The founders used backrub.com before switching to the now-iconic google.com.
5️⃣ The most expensive public domain sale is $872 million
🔥 cars.com
Not a cash sale — but accounting valuation placed it at $872M, making it the world’s highest-value domain asset.
6️⃣ Voice.com sold for $30 million — paid in crypto
Block.one bought voice.com for $30M, the largest cash domain sale ever recorded.
7️⃣ The longest possible domain? 63 characters
That’s the maximum allowed label length.
Technically, you can register domains like:
itsamassivelylongdomainnamethatnoonereallywantsbutitspossible.com
Not recommended 😄
8️⃣ There are over 1,500+ active TLDs today
From .com to .xyz to .ai to .tattoo — the domain world exploded after ICANN’s new gTLD program.
9️⃣ Domains can legally be classified as real estate
In US courts, domains have been treated as:
- digital property
- intangible real estate
- assets capable of depreciation
🔟 The .com boom of the 90s created 1000% price spikes
Demand outpaced supply and investors flipped domains like property, long before crypto.
11️⃣ The shortest .com domain ever sold is “Z.com”
Owned by SoftBank → later sold to GMO Group (Japan).
Single-letter .coms cannot be newly registered.
12️⃣ .AI is technically a country-code domain
“.ai” belongs to Anguilla, but startups worldwide use it as “Artificial Intelligence.”
Anguilla earns millions annually from domain sales.
13️⃣ Domains expire more often on Mondays
Statistically, the highest drop volume occurs early in the week.
14️⃣ Tesla.com took Elon Musk 10 years to purchase
He originally used teslamotors.com.
He paid $11 million for tesla.com in 2016.
15️⃣ Around 40% of the Alexa Top 1M still uses .com
The king of TLDs isn’t going anywhere.
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