The US government decision to relinquish control over the DNS root has received a mixed and, in some cases, unexpected reaction. Accordingly, Verisign’s stock has lost around 8% of its value following the decision’s announcement.
Under a trilateral agreement between the US Department of Commerce, ICANN and Verisign, the latter serves as a major technical contractor, operating two of the 13 DNS roots. The US government's decision not to renew Verisign’s contract sent the company’s stock price down.
Unfortunately, this market reaction demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge about the Internet industry on the part of investors. The fact is that Verisign’s contract with the government and ICANN has no commercial value. The company derives most of its revenue from the administration of .com and .net gTLDs, which will not be affected by the US government’s decision.
Verisign’s management has issued a statement, trying to calm fears and reassure investors that the government’s decision will in no way affect the company’s business.
