The domain name BitcoinWallet.com has been purchased by Austin, Texas, entrepreneur Alex Charfen for $250,000.
Niko Younts, a media consultant, bitcoin investor and the domain’s previous owner, broke the news via Twitter on 5th February.
BitcoinWallet (.com) just sold for $250,000 and BitcoinWallets (.com) is pending at $200k. #bitcoin #wallstreet
— Niko Younts (@NeverLoseVision) February 5, 2014
Younts, who confirmed the sale to CoinDesk but declined to comment, also noted in the post that he is close to selling the domain BitcoinWallets.com for a similar asking price. The domain asset was a part of the NeverLoseVision.com investment portfolio, a seven-figure incubator portfolio with startup projects and investment domain assets.
A search of the WHOIS domain record-keeping database revealed that Younts is the current owner of BitcoinWallets.com, and that Charfen is the current owner of BitcoinWallet.com.
Who is Alex Charfen?
Founder of the Charfen Institute with his wife Cadey Charfen, Alex Charfen is an established entrepreneur and published author having written books as well as opinion articles for high-profile publications.
Also an accomplished motivational speaker, Charfen has built his career on his personal comeback story. In the 1990s, Charfen worked as at a multinational conglomerate, but lost everything when his investments in real estate were wiped out by the recession and subsequent financial collapse.
Undeterred, Charfen filed for bankruptcy and soon decided he could help the real estate industry learn from the mistakes it made. Charfen launched the Distressed Property Institute as a way to offer REALTORS additional education, and soon started the Charfen Institute, which provides training and educational products.
The company now earns 10.8m annually and placed among the Inc. 5000 in 2013.
Plans for BitcoinWallet.com?
A screenshot of BitcoinWallet.comAt press time, Charfen had not responded to requests for comment about his plans for the website. However, should the entrepreneur decide to launch a bitcoin wallet service, he is likely to find competition from the available desktop, mobile and web wallets.
Existing bitcoin wallet providers such as Blockchain, which recently passed 1 million users, and Coinbase, which raised $25m in its last round of funding, have already established themselves as dominant names in the space.
However, as the bitcoin market continues to grow, it’s not out of the question that the need for more user-friendly wallets, or even specialty types of wallets will emerge, meaning the investment could pay dividends.
What do you think of the purchase? Weigh in with your thoughts below.