New gTLD Registry Service Providers, XYZ, CentralNic $CNIC & ICANN

"... downward pressure on prices due to competition among Registry Service Providers has drained capital from the marketplace that might otherwise be used to fund stable, resilient infrastructures ...  it is equally apparent that the downward spiral of Registry Service Provider pricing will lead to cut corners. The result will be a failure ..."--Kurt Pritz (former ICANN Chief Strategy Officer), Why Registry Service Providers Should be Accredited by ICANN | circleid.com.

.XYZ Domain Helping To Drive Growth at CentralNic Says CEO:

The chief executive of  domain name registry services provider CentralNic Group PLC (LON:CNIC), Ben Crawford, in the above video tells ProactiveInvestors that the .XYZ* new gTLD (new generic top-level domain) has been a revelation and helped the company to drive up revenues and profits in the first half of 2016. “We have six of the top 25 [new gTLDS]. Number one is .xyz which is very well known because Google used it for Alphabet, the new parent company,” says Crawford. “Mark Zuckerberg’s used it, the founders of Skype are using it for one of their new companies and it’s the most popular [new gTLD] all around the world.” Crawford estimates that CentralNic has about a 34% market share, adding that other domain names such as .art, .am and .fm are also boosting the finances. He also touches on the company’s cash position, explaining that there is “never an issue” with that as all of the company’s divisions are cash-generative. *CentralNic is the "backend" registry services provider for new gTLD .XYZ (registry operator XYZ.COM LLC), and for other new gTLDs.

Video above published Oct 12, 2016, by ProActive Investors Stocktube [stocktube.com]. According to its website, "Stocktube is part of the Proactiveinvestors Group, a leading multi-media news organisation, investor portal and events management business with offices in New York, Sydney, Toronto, Frankfurt and London."

Centralnic Group PLC a/k/a CentralNic

Principal domain: centralnic.com

Stock exchange: symbol | LON: CNIC

Recent 5-year stock chart of Centralnic Group PLC (LON: CNIC) showing shares DOWN -41.81% since Sep 11, 2015. 

Note that $CNIC priced in GBX (pence sterling) on the London Stock Exchange. 43.50 pence sterling = US$0.53.

Also note that one of the larger domain name registrars, Namecheap, has experienced connectivity issues with CentralNic registry: 

"We are currently experiencing connectivity issues with CentralNic registry. As a result, recently registered .US.COM / .DE.COM / .PW / .WEBSITE / .HOST / .PRESS / .SPACE / .SITE / .XYZ / .TECH / .DESIGN / .ONLINE / .COLLEGE / .RENT / .BR.COM, .CN.COM / .EU.COM / .GB.COM / .GB.NET / .UK.COM / .UK.NET / .UY.COM / .HU.COM / .NO.COM / .QC.COM / .RU.COM / .SA.COM / .SE.COM / .SE.NET / .ZA.COM / .JPN.COM / .AE.ORG / .KR.COM / .LA / .AR.COM / .US.ORG / .GR.COM / .COM.DE / .JP.NET / .HU.NET / .WIKI / .IN.NET / .REST / .REIT / .FANS / .INK / .FEEDBACK / .MEX.COM / .CO.COM / .BAR / .COM.SE / .TICKETS / .LOVE / .PROTECTION / .SECURITY / .THEATRE domains may not resolve properly and DNS updates may not propagate as well. The case has been escalated to the Registry. They are aware of the issue and doing their best to resolve this. Kindly allow some time for the issue to get resolved and do not place new .US.COM / .DE.COM / .PW / .WEBSITE / .HOST / .PRESS / .SPACE / .SITE / .XYZ / .TECH / .DESIGN / .ONLINE / .COLLEGE / .RENT / .BR.COM, .CN.COM / .EU.COM / .GB.COM / .GB.NET / .UK.COM / .UK.NET / .UY.COM / .HU.COM / .NO.COM / .QC.COM / .RU.COM / .SA.COM / .SE.COM / .SE.NET / .ZA.COM / .JPN.COM / .AE.ORG / .KR.COM / .LA / .AR.COM / .US.ORG / .GR.COM / .COM.DE / .JP.NET / .HU.NET / .WIKI / .IN.NET / .REST / .REIT / .FANS / .INK / .FEEDBACK / .MEX.COM / .CO.COM / .BAR / .COM.SE / .TICKETS / .LOVE / .PROTECTION / .SECURITY / .THEATRE domain related orders for now. This status post will be updated once we have any news ... UPDATE @ 10:20 EDT | 14:20 UTC [Oct 12, 2016] We are glad to let you know that we received a confirmation from the Registry that the matter is resolved now ..."--Namecheap.com (emphasis added)

Caveat Emptor Domain Name Registrants: ICANN, the global monopoly authorizing new gTLDs, neither captures nor publishes information about registry service providers' failures. Instead, incompetent ICANN sees itself as a "marketing agency" for new gTLD domain names. To heck with consumer protection and the global public interest?

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New gTLDs Registry Minds+Machines Reports Loss, Hopes for Profit 2016

Above: 1-year stock chart on MMX, note Sep 26, 2014 price of 12.00 pence=US$0.19 (source: google.com)

In a release today, new gTLDs registry operator Minds + Machines Group Limited (domain name: mindsandmachines.com), which trades on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol MMX  (LON: MMX), reported a H1 2015 loss of (US$3,695,000) for the 6 month period ending June 30, 2015, compared with a profit of $USD4.9 million for the same period in 2014, primarily due to lower profit from participating in new gTLD (generic top-level domain) auctions. Shares closed today at 8.62 pence which equals USD $0.13. Stockholders have lost money as MMX shares declined over the past year--e.g., see in chart above 12.00 pence (US$0.19) high in Sept 2014.

Among other highlights reported:

• Headcount has been reduced from 58 to 44 even as the sales and marketing teams grew from 2 to 12;
• Board committed to achieving its stated goal of crossing over into profitability in 2016;
• 217,200 domains were under management, representing 3.43% of new gTLD market;
• Cash reserves at period end up 2% at $46.9 million from 31 December 2014 reflecting private auctions taking place in period;
• Company authorised to purchase up to £15 million of shares in the open market during the next 12 months;
• A copy of the unaudited interim accounts is available at www.mindsandmachines.com. 

According to the company, Minds + Machines operates three distinct business lines: the registry, through which it is a major owner of generic top-level domains ("gTLDs"); the registry service provider, whose technology powers the top-level domains of MMX and its clients; the registrar, which provides an additional distribution channel through which the Company can target specific vertical markets.


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