Newfold Digital is the company that was formed when the Endurance group of companies merged with the Web.com group of companies. Newfold Digital now operates domain investor facing brands like Network Solutions, Register.com, NameJet, Snapnames, BigRock, BuyDomains, and several other brands.

This afternoon, the company introduced a new corporate logo and identity. In addition, a video was shared to introduce people to the Newfold Digital brand, which I embedded below:

More information about the company and its branding can be found in the press release that was shared with me today:

Rally is “a platform for buying & selling equity shares in collectible assets.” From the looks of it, people can make investments on various types of assets, such as sports cards, timepieces, vintage cars, and possibly other collectible assets. The startup, which uses RallyRd.com for its domain name, has raised over $100 million in funding.

According to an article on WWD.com (and also published via Yahoo Finance), Rally just raised its Series B round of funding. I find the market and platform interesting, but the news that might pique the interest of domain investors is that Rally may soon include domain names among the class of assets people can invest in.

Here’s an excerpt from the article that discusses the possible addition of domain names on the Rally platform:

“Looking ahead to intangible assets, the founder said users have been very vocal about what they want to see on the platform — music rights and domain names being among their requests. Five to 10 new asset classes will be added over the coming months.”

I think it has become clear that some domain names are valuable assets. I can see why people might want to offer them for sale in this manner. A major domain name sale requires one entity with the vision and funding to acquire the asset, and offering equity shares in a domain name would open up ownership to a much larger group of investors.

As I recall, there was a company called Fusu that offered fractional domain name ownership and the trading of domain name shares. I don’t recall what happened to that platform, but it does not appear to exist any longer.

If Rally does decide to add domain names to its asset classes, I would imagine the platform could partner with the domain name registrants to sell shares in their domain names, which could then be traded on a public market. I think fractional ownership could add liquidity to the domain name aftermarket and show the value of these assets to other collectors who may not be knowledgeable about domain name values.

There are likely regulatory and other domain name-specific logistical and legal issues that would need to be overcome, but having 9 figures in funding and substantial backing can help ensure these issues are solved.

Unstoppable Domains posted a video interview with Media Options CEO Andrew Rosener that domain investors may want to watch. In the interview, Andrew offered his opinions and insights “about the future of the decentralized web and the potential and utility of blockchain” domain names.

I am not super familiar with any of this, and if you’re in the same position as me, you should read more about this class of domain names on the introduction page on the Unstoppable Domains website.

I do not own/control any blockchain domain names, nor am I actively involved in the crypto space, so I can’t offer an educated opinion on the topic of blockchain domains. I will watch the interview though:

Domain investors get a lot of grief from people looking to buy domain names that were registered long ago. Occasionally, the grief is warranted, but by and large, domain investors tend to make it easier for end user buyers to acquire the domain names they covet.

I spend a ton of time working on domain name acquisitions. I think it’s more challenging than ever before to acquire the domain names I typically target. I regularly come across domain names owned by medium to large companies, and it is very, very difficult to persuade these companies to sell a domain name. In the whole scheme of things, offering an extra $50,000 or $100,000 isn’t going to move the needle, particularly when the person on the other side of the discussion doesn’t stand to benefit upon a successful sale.

Andre Bergeron shared this tweet from Vice that might be of interest to a domain investor who buys and sells domain names as a part-time side hustle:

Got a unique part-time gig you think we should know about? Hit us up: casting [at] vice dot com. Bonus points if you live in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Denver areas. pic.twitter.com/A1nQrQ6pUY

— VICE (@VICE) May 6, 2021

Vice has a series called Side Hustles that features different people who make money with unique “side hustles.” I think domain investing is a fairly unique, money making (in many cases) side gig. I don’t know if the day-to-day aspect of domain investing is interesting enough for an episode of Side Hustles, but I am sure there are some unique characters in the domain space who would be worth following.

If you want to show off your domain investment business, this Vice casting call may be for you.