A new gTLD sold for 41.5 millions USD

In 27 January the new generic top level domain (TLD) .shop was auctioned for a record 41.5 millions USD. The auction was organised by ICANN because there were sex applicants who wanted to operate this TLD.

The domain was bought by GMO Registry, Inc.. Four contestants, including Amazon.com and Google, stopped when the amount reached 15 millions and only two applicants kept fighting .shop. However, many commentators believe that such an investment will be hard to recover as the prospects of new gTLDs are not as bright as they initially seemed.