On March 4, 2020, the doMEn registry, which manages Montenegro’s ccTLD, announced that it would make most of the previously reserved domain names available for anyone to register, including one- and two-character domains. This step was intended to raise the revenue of the Montenegrin domain, and after a year, it proved to be fully justified. According to Online Domain, citing the registry data, the revenue from the sale of premium domain names has increased by 220%.
Over the past months, 79 premium domains have been registered in .ME, the average registration fee being 5,740 euros, and the total revenue has reached 453,000 euros. Among the registrants were many of the world's major companies, such as the Turner Broadcasting System and the multinational petrochemical company Koch Industries. Many premium domains purchased during the year already host active sites. For example, on Pass.me users can validate their COVID-19 tests using QR codes; MC.me is a Chinese messaging service, and Retail.me is a German platform that connects manufacturers to retailers.
Geographically, the United States has the highest number of registrations, with individuals and legal entities from this country having registered 48 premium domains in .ME. When it comes to registrars, the majority of domains (29) were acquired through GoDaddy. However, a considerable number of premium domain names in Montenegro’s ccTLD are still available and waiting for their registrants.
