Despite a bear market that has seen the value of Bitcoin drop from a high of almost $70,000 to the $20,000 range today, the market for cryptocurrency and related assets remains strong for some.
None moreso than Banxa, a payment services provider for the digital asset industry, which sold off the Bitcoin.com.au domain name in a deal worth AU$3 million. The deal was facilitated by brokerage company QEIP, founded by Neil P. Bostick.
The deal for Bitcoin.com.au closed in August, but details of the sale have only just been disclosed following a press release published by Banxa.
The press release, which was summarized by George Kirikos at FreeSpeech.com, notes that Banxa will receive AU$2.25 million in cash and an AU$750,000 equity stake in new owner Independent Reserve.
Independent Reserve is a large cryptocurrency exchange operating in the Asia-Pacific region and boasts more than 250,000 users across Australia and New Zealand. Acquiring Bitcion.com.au, the ccTLD of Australia, is a sensible move that may see Independent Reserve capture a wider audience.
According to Bostick, QEIP performed a private bidding process over the course of one month, with Independent Reserve winning the bid. Bostick also revealed that QEIP is currently in the process of selling Bitcoin.co.uk via a similar means, with Bitcoin.ca likely being sold in October. Both Bitcoin.co.uk and Bitcoin.ca are Banxa properties, along with other Bitcoin domains such as Bitcoin.eu, Bitcoin.co.in, and Bitcoin.ie, which are expected to sell in the coming months.
Two other domains that changed hands in the Bitcoin.com.au transaction were BuyaBitcoin.com.au and CoinLoft.com.au. These are not thought to have been domain names originally considered within the AU$3 million price.
