Mar 04, 2020 08:00:00

How are used IPv4 addresses sold?

The lack of IPv4 addresses has become a major problem, especially in the

United States and Europe . As a result, the sale of already assigned IPv4 addresses is beginning to be accepted in some regions, such as the United States, to delay depletion. Internet technology writer David Strom talks about how IPv4 addresses are sold, based on his own experience.

So you wanna buy a used IP address block? | Web Informant
https://blog.strom.com/wp/?p=7561

The IPv4 address block owned by Strom was almost unused, not assigned to a PC or the like. Strom began selling IPv4 addresses around January 2020. To sell an IPv4 address, you first need to obtain a proof of ownership of the IPv4 address. In the case of Strom, he stated that he used the IPv4 address on the corporate tax return of a business he had previously managed.

In addition, Mr. Strom owned IPv4 addresses privately, but sales of privately owned IPv4 addresses were not allowed. Mr. Strom temporarily transferred ownership of the IPv4 address to his company, as the sale was only authorized for corporate-owned IPv4 addresses. This procedure is necessary to prove the identity of ARIN, who manages IPv4 addresses in the area where Strom lives, and to obtain permission to sell IPv4 addresses.

With official permission from ARIN, you will be able to sell your IPv4 address to others. Strom also states that 'selling an IPv4 address can be done almost alone,' he chose to sell through an intermediary.

Regarding the reason for the need for an intermediary, Strom says, 'In order for both buyers and sellers to trust each other, they need to have a third party to close the deal.' Because IPv4 addresses are also problematic in terms of large-scale distribution, reliability is emphasized when buying and selling IPv4 addresses.

Report that IPv4 addresses worth about 5 billion yen are being circulated from Africa-gigazine

In finding a broker, Strom first looked at the list of brokers registered with ARIN. At the time of article creation, 29 brokers were registered in the ARIN list, and they were able to confirm the contact information, telephone number, and registration date on the list. However, the information on the ARIN list is registered only to the last, and it seems that it was not possible to obtain information such as whether each intermediary is still continuing business or buying and selling in a reliable way.

Due to the lack of trust in ARIN's list, Strom decided to look for intermediaries among those registered with the

IPv4 Market Group . Mr. Strom decided that the IPv4 Market Group set the following conditions when registering an intermediary, and therefore 'it is more reliable than the ARIN list'.
・ Do you handle both buying and selling of IPv4 addresses?
・ Was properly guaranteed by law and insurance?

Ultimately, Strom chose Hilco IPv4.Global brokerage as an intermediary. Hilco IPv4.Global brokerage is an intermediary that sells IPv4 addresses in auction format. The reason that Strom chose Hilco IPv4.Global brokerage seems to be that it was easy to understand the price market because all the auctions can be viewed from the homepage. A few weeks after listing at the auction, Strom's IPv4 address was awarded for $ 23.

It seems that it took about two and a half months from the time that Strom started to sell the IPv4 address to the time the successful bid price was transferred to the bank account.