It’s always exciting when the domain name aftermarket and domain investing gets a mention in a non-tech news publication. GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani made an appearance on Fox Business yesterday to discuss the company’s first quarter results. What caught my attention was that Mr. Bhutani spoke about the growth of the domain name secondary market at GoDaddy. Not only that, but he specifically mentioned domain investors.

Have a look at the interview:

In its earnings call this afternoon, GoDaddy discussed its acquisition of around 30 new gTLD extensions. The company cited the “efficiencies of scale” for why the acquisition made sense, and I mentioned that I am curious about whether GoDaddy acquired any of the extensions that were offered for sale by UNR in its auction at the end of April. As you may recall, UNR announced it would be auctioning 23 of its TLDs in separate no reserve auctions.

I reached out to Shayan Rostam, Chief Growth Officer at UNR, and I asked him if he can share a status update on the auction and perhaps share some of the results. Shayan replied with a press release (published below) that will hit the wires shortly.

After the market closed today, GoDaddy reported its Q1 2021 earnings. The quarterly earnings report can be accessed via the Investor Relations portal on GoDaddy’s website. Depending on what time you read this, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani is either preparing to share some remarks on the investor call today at 5pm Eastern, or he already gave them.

Whether you listen live or not, you can have a look at the prepared remarks to see what was said. Most interestingly, domain investors were specifically mentioned:

When I place a bid on an auction at GoDaddy Auctions, I receive an email with my maximum bid amount. I typically place my bids on the morning, and the auctions close several hours later in the afternoon. By that time, I’ve lost track of how much I initially bid on the auction.

If I am outbid on an auction, I also receive an email from GoDaddy to notify me. For some unknown reason, GoDaddy Auctions does not state the current high bid in those emails, and I find it frustrating. Here’s an example of an outbid notice I received yesterday afternoon: