Cogent (CCOI) recently announced that it was offering secured notes for $206M. The unusual part is what it’s using as security: some of its IPv4 addresses and the leases on those IPv4 addresses. Cogent has been leasing out addresses for several years. All internet service providers (ISPs) give IP addresses to their users, but Cogent was among the first to lease those addresses independently of internet access.
In 2021, the story was price. In 2022, the story was price and large block supply. The story in 2023 is decline but with a notable caveat. Spurred by unprecedented unit pricing, the North American IPv4 market in 2022 experienced its second-best year in terms of overall traded volume, and in both 2022 and in 2023, large block market activity was as robust as ever, with sellers trading large blocks at over $50 per number.
The IPv4 market has created serious interest in the protocol far beyond the natural confines of networking professionals. These assets are worth a lot. Marketplaces, IPv4.Global's especially, have grown to be large centers of asset transfer by buyers and sellers of IPv4 addresses. IPv4.Global has helped transfer over $1 billion in IPv4 blocks.
In the digital age, where every device, from smartphones to fridges, connects to the Internet, the topic of IP addresses becomes increasingly relevant. An IP address, a unique identifier for devices on the Internet, has seen its fair share of evolution from IPv4 to IPv6. Yet, the question lingers: Are unused IPv4 addresses a hidden treasure?
An IPv4 address identifies your connection to the online world. IP addresses make it possible to host websites, manage secure communication, and engage in countless other essential, internet-related activities. Typically, when migrating to a new cloud provider, a business has only one path: lease the provider's IP addresses. But what if a business already has a block of IP addresses?