ShortDot announced that a priority registration period opens in the new .BOND gTLD starting on October 17. It was reported that originally ICANN delegated it to Bond University in Australia, but the university could not put it to use and sold it to ShortDot. The deal was a success because unlike most brand domains, bond is just a word and no trademark.
The word ‘bonds’ is referred to some types of securities and financial guarantees provided by companies.. It was also thought that the new domain could interest James Bond fans, but according to the latest news, that’s unlikely. Domain Incite reports, citing ShortDot COO Kevin Kopas, that registration with .BOND will cost about $800–$1000. Obviously, if such prices appeal anyone, it will be bonds trading related people, not James Bond fans.
It is noteworthy that the business model for .BOND is diametrically opposed to .ICU, where names sell for under $2 a year, which brought on some 2 million registrations over less than two years. It will be interesting to see which model will turn out to work. The priority period will last for 33 days when only trademark owners will be able to register domain names. General availability begins on November 19. More expensive premium tiers will not be offered, no surprise given the initial prices.
