IPv4 Markets

Running-Code Betrayal: How the RIR System Turned Consensus Against the Technical Community

A dispute over African IP governance exposes a flaw in the RIR system, where thin policy, weak accountability and institutional self preservation risk overriding running networks and undermining the technical legitimacy that sustained global coordination. more

When Registry Power Detaches From Liability, It Detaches From Reality

IPv4 scarcity turned regional internet registries from clerks into gatekeepers of a valuable resource. Yet liability caps remain trivial, leaving powerful institutions with little accountability and incentives for conflict and structural breakdown ahead. more

Why Universities Should Monetize Their IP Addresses Instead of Selling

Universities sit on vast reserves of IPv4 addresses -- a legacy from the early internet. Instead of one-off sales, leasing these assets could generate sustainable revenues while preserving long-term digital infrastructure and institutional flexibility. more

China and the Geopolitics of Africa’s 6.2 Million IPv4 Addresses

AFRINIC's fight over 6.2 million IPv4 addresses exposes how legal pressure, offshore vehicles and scarcity economics can strip Africa of leverage, turning a technical dispute into a test of sovereignty, institutional resilience and Internet governance. more

China, AFRINIC, and the Dangerous Precedent That Could Destabilize the Global Internet

A dispute over 6.2m IPv4 addresses at AFRINIC exposes how litigation and market incentives could erode regional stewardship, setting a precedent that risks turning the Internet's allocation system into a vehicle for global arbitrage. more

What Drives IPv4 Demand in Today’s Market?

Predictions of IPv4's demise were premature. A market webinar shows demand has diversified, prices reflect structure not relevance, and leasing, policy shifts and broadband funding will keep the ageing protocol strategically important for years ahead. more

Entering the Growing IPv4 Market: What Enterprises Should Do Now

With IPv4 addresses fetching up to $30 apiece and IPv6 adoption lagging, companies may be sitting on hidden digital assets. A strategic audit could unlock unexpected revenue and enhance long-term infrastructure planning. more

Africa Can’t Skip IPv4 on the Road to IPv6

Africa's push toward IPv6 cannot bypass IPv4 scarcity, as uneven infrastructure, market dynamics, and governance disputes raise costs, entrench inequality, and risk turning transitional address shortages into a lasting brake on digital development across regions. more

The Misinformation War Over Africa’s Internet Registry

Afrinic crisis exposes how legal pressure, proxy advocacy and owned media reshape narratives, potentially threatening global internet registry governance and shifting Africa's IP resources from public stewardship toward market commodification with broader far-reaching institutional consequences. more

Regional Internet Registries’ Thick Governance Turns Uniqueness Into Double Extraction

Regional Internet registries, built for coordination, now sit atop scarce IPv4 assets while bearing little liability, suppressing capitalization and imposing "double extraction" that weakens operators, distorts markets and threatens the stability of global internet uniqueness. more

Africa Is Not a Digital Quarry

Africa's internet registry crisis reflects not abstract design flaws but sustained legal and market pressure, as scarce address resources are drawn into global arbitrage, challenging stewardship and exposing the fragility of regional digital governance. more

IPv4 Buying and Leasing in 2026: A Market Recalibration

Falling IPv4 prices in 2026 reflect not collapse but maturation, as hyperscaler demand wanes, buyers diversify, and leasing expands, turning scarce addresses into managed assets shaped by liquidity, flexibility, and infrastructure driven needs today increasingly. more

Mandate Laundering: From RIR Fantasy to Transition Architecture

Private internet registries have inflated narrow technical roles into quasi-sovereign authority, laundering mandate through ritual and rhetoric; a fragile system now faces legal, economic and political reckoning, prompting calls for coordinated transition urgent global reform. more

The Poverty Penalty: How the RIR Model Taxes the Poor While Calling It Equality

Critics blame IPv4 markets for inequality, but registry rules long rewarded scale and imposed regressive costs. Scarcity was managed, not equalized, leaving poorer networks paying more for slower, less predictable access over time and regions. more

The Internet No Longer Needs Permission

Governance rules built for the early Internet are struggling to keep pace with a global, automated network. As IPv4 markets mature and infrastructure becomes software-defined, registries may need to prioritise transparency and automation over permission. more