One of the most highly-sought after domain names, Crypto.com, has finally been sold to a company based in Monaco, a Crypto Visa company. The original owner of the domain, Matt Blaze, had initially turned down several offers from several buyers who had expressed interest in buying the domain.
Undisclosed amount
Matt Blaze is a Computer and Information Science professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
He bought the domain in 1993, when the whole idea of cryptocurrencies was being theorized. Although Monaco is said to have paid several million dollars to acquire the domain, the exact amount was not disclosed. The company, which is based in Hong Kong, recently raised $25 million from its first ICO, which was conducted in June 2017.
The cryptocurrency company is mainly focused on filling the gap between the traditional payment system and the crypto world. This is done through its Monaco Card. The Monaco Visa Card enables users to load money by selling their cryptocurrencies on the accompanying Monaco App.
Rebranding Monaco
The domain was mainly sought after because of its branding and marketing potential. According to Kris Marszalek, the CEO of Monaco, the company will be rebranded to Crypto.com. In a statement, Marszalek said that the domain will be a very powerful mark of identity. He noted that it represents the whole cryptocurrency world. He admitted that by taking over the domain, the company is taking on a very big responsibility.
Why Blaze was initially unwilling to sell
As indicated earlier, Blaze turned down several offers from potential buyers. According to him, the original intention of crypto.com was to be the shortened form of “cryptography” and not “cryptocurrency.” In fact, the professor, who is also an advisor of Tor is not a fan of cryptocurrencies and has repeatedly termed many as scams.
Why Monaco
Unconfirmed reports state that the website may have been sold at between $5 and $10 million. Additionally, Blaze has remained silent on why he suddenly changed his mind and decided to sell the domain. However, according to Marszalek, Blaze was looking for the highest bidder. Monaco may have beaten the rest to become the highest bidder.