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Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is a series of 32 digits that are used to identify devices connected to a network. When the internet had just begun, four billion addresses seemed like an infinity pool. Each device connected to the internet needs a unique IP address. With the rapid expansion of the internet over the last decade, it has become clear that merely four billion addresses are not enough for a sustainable expansion of the World Wide Web.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) emptied its bag of available internet addresses on February 3, 2011. IPv4 exhaustion will not result in the downfall of the internet. Rather, a network operator will not be able to receive large blocks of IPv4 addresses to tackle the demands of their customers. IPv4 exhaustion was predicted since the 1980s when the internet began booming. The supply was officially depleted in 2018. Since then, organizations have been relying on old and recovered addresses.

The Internet Engineering Task Force has developed IPv6 addresses, which can provide about 340 trillion trillion trillion new addresses. However, IPv6 addresses have not taken off as hoped. This is mainly because IPv6 and IPv4 addresses are not compatible with each other. Every internet user will have to get an IPv6 number alongside IPv4. Organizations still need IPv4 now because it can be decades until these internet addresses fade out for good.

When the internet was still in its infancy, IPv4 addresses were given out for free to anyone who needed them, often in large blocks. Most of the addresses used in the 1980s are presumed to be abandoned now. Additionally, a lot of addresses that were given out freely in the old days may have never been used. Nowadays, there are a lot of groups on the internet that use IPv4 addresses for a few minutes before dropping them. Tracing so many lost numbers has become virtually impossible, as no one knows the amount of unused IPv4 addresses floating out there. Unless a group of dedicated technicians is hired to track down each IPv4 address and bring the unused ones back to the market, the exhaustion will continue.

Before selling your IPv4 address, you need to have a firm idea of the price of the addresses in the market. Selling your unused IPv4 Address is not like putting your old clothes in a garage sale. The transaction is more like a company acquisition or merger. You will need either legal counsel or the help of an IPv4 broker to help you through the sale.

The buying and selling of IPv4 addresses are not new. Microsoft made waves in 2011 when the company spent over $7 million in buying 600,000 addresses owned by Nortel Networks. More recently, Amazon acquired almost 8 million IPv4 addresses from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

If you have IPv4 addresses you want to sell, you will find clients who are willing to buy. Larger companies are always on the lookout for more IPv4 addresses. The popular notion is that they are waiting for the demand to sky-rocket so that they can sell the addresses at outrageous prices. On the other hand, companies may be buying more as their current stock of IPv4 cannot handle the constantly growing traffic on their websites. Looked at from this perspective, it can be safe to assume that the IPv4 market will dry up in a few years.

The market for IPv4 addresses is opaque. No one knows who is selling and buying. The job of an IPv4 broker is to bring together the buyer and seller on the internet and complete the transaction. They represent the buyer, seller, or both parties during the transactional process, and help the two come to a mutually beneficial conclusion. IPv4 Brokers may not be needed for transactions where the buyers and sellers know each other personally.

The market for selling unused IPv4 Addresses has never been more in demand. As a seller, you have the power of negotiating the conditions of the sale. Prefixx has helped clients from 5 continents sell IPv4 Addresses at profitable prices. Prefixx can also help you lease your IPv4 Address if you are not ready to sell it yet. All transactional paperwork will be done by us. If this is your first time selling your IPv4 Address, we will guide you throughout the process and help you complete your transaction successfully