.top adds a quarter million names in a day
The new gTLD .top set a new record for one-day growth, adding almost a quarter million domains on Monday.
The February 16 .top zone file shows 1,343,665 domains, up 238,616 on the day, according to DI stats.
That’s the majority of the 287,950-name growth the whole new gTLD universe experienced that day.
It’s the second example of a single TLD growing by six figures in a day, following .xyz’s 131,000-name growth on February 6.
It seems that the majority of the names were registered via West.cn, a Chinese registrar that sells the names for CNY 4 ($0.60).
It seems we’re looking at a buying spree by a limited number of Chinese investors.
.top is run by Jiangsu Bangning Science & Technology and marketed primarily in Chinese.
It’s currently the second largest new gTLD by zone size, after .xyz.
Many TLDs are sold at CNY4 in Chinese, but not everyone had even a closer increase like this. The reason behind .top this time is West.cn’s new business dai.top
http://www.nic.top/en/news_view.asp?id=475
Only God knows what the Chinese have to do with .top.
With domains selling as cheaply as they are (under $1) and a penchant for bulk trading within the Chinese market, a small number of buyers can really move the needle.