What should I know before I buy a short domain with crypto?

At Pearlcay. You give one email address per domain, which is verified and kept private. You upload no ID document and no selfie, and you type no ID number. The domain is registered in your name. The steps are on how it works.

The .ai registry sets a minimum term of 2 years, for a first registration and for each renewal. At $86.99/year, the first order is twice that yearly price. Why .ai takes 2 years explains the rule.

Not always. Most registries are queried live, but .io, .gg and a few others show Availability confirmed at order. The final check happens when you register, so we do not promise an instant answer for them. If the name is taken, the amount goes back to your balance.

The renewal price is printed next to the first-year price. A .ai renews at $86.99/year, for at least 2 years. A .io costs $35.99/year the first year, then $62.99/year. A .gg renews at $57.99/year, one year at a time. See the pricing page.

A registry can sell certain names as premium, at a price it sets itself. A name of that kind costs more than the table. Registry premium names explains how it works.

BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC. Monero is not accepted, and there is no card, PayPal or bank transfer. Every price is paid from a balance that you top up in one of these coins.

$25. If your cart costs more, the top-up is the price of the cart. If it costs less, you top up the minimum, and the rest stays on your balance.

Unused balance stays on your account and never expires, and it pays for new domains, renewals and transfers. When a purchase costs less than the minimum top-up, the part added only to reach the minimum is refundable on request to support within 30 days of the payment, in USDT or USDC, as long as it has not been spent. The rest of the balance is not paid back, except where the law requires it.

A domain is registered usually within minutes of the top-up being credited; a few island registries (.gg among them) can take up to a day to confirm a new name. Before that, the network must confirm your top-up, and the number of confirmations depends on the coin.

You do not lose it: if a domain cannot be registered (taken in the meantime, refused by the registry), the full amount goes back to your balance. That balance then pays for another name, a renewal or a transfer.

Yes. You upload no identity document and no selfie, and you type no ID number. We collect one email address per domain. It is required, verified as ICANN rules ask, and kept private. We never ask for bank or card details, because payment is in crypto.

ICANN rules require the contact of each domain to be verified. Checking an email address is a contact check, not an identity check. After registration, the registrant email is verified after registration, as ICANN rules require (within 15 days). If the address is not verified, the domain can be suspended until it is.

It is free wherever the registry allows it. According to Pearlcay's check of 2 November 2026, that covers 7 of the 15 extensions (.ai, .io, .co, .me, .tv, .vc and .pw), while .gg offers no privacy service at all. The page of each extension states its rule, and the island index puts the rules side by side.

You are, unless you choose Domain protection. With the option, the registrant of record is DomaineGoat LLC and you stay the beneficiary, with a free hand-back to your own name whenever you ask.

An option at +$29/year per domain. The domain is in the name of DomaineGoat LLC, and you can take it back for free. The transfer lock is on, only your email is held, and a person reads every complaint before any action. That review exists only with the option. Details: Domain protection.

Its registry wants a full name and a postal address for the registrant, and we collect neither. So we register .cc domains in the name of DomaineGoat LLC, and the price already includes the option.

Phishing, malware, botnets and fraud that takes money from victims. We act within 24 hours of a well-documented report. Child sexual abuse material is handled immediately, with a report to the competent hotline or authority. Anyone can report to [email protected] without an account. See the abuse page.

Not for copyright, defamation, political or competitor complaints: we take no action on the complaint alone, and we need a decision that binds us. Trademark disputes follow the UDRP, and the domain is locked within 2 business days of a request from a UDRP provider. The rules are the same with or without Domain protection.

We release the data we hold only when Panamanian law requires it (a Panamanian court or prosecutor's order), or in a UDRP case. A complaint sent to our abuse desk gives nobody access to your data.

DomaineGoat LLC, a company incorporated in Panama, runs Pearlcay. It holds no ICANN accreditation. Domains are registered through our ICANN-accredited registrar partner. More on the about page.

Request the transfer (EPP) code in your client area. It is free, requested from the client area, and there is no exit fee. Enter it at the new registrar and confirm the move there. We never ask for your password, your account number or your domain transfer (EPP) codes by email or chat.

Yes. A transfer in costs the renewal price of the extension, for example $62.99/year for a .io. Remove the lock at your current registrar, copy the transfer code, and start the transfer from your client area. For a .ai, read the transfer guide.

You get automatic renewal from your balance, switched on or off for each domain. The balance must hold enough on the renewal date, or the renewal does not happen. A .ai renews for at least 2 years, so keep two yearly prices ready.

Yes. Each domain comes with free DNS hosting with A, AAAA, CNAME, ALIAS, MX, TXT, NS, SRV and CAA records, one-click templates (Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, Shopify, Proton Mail, Fastmail, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail), or your own nameservers (2 to 13). Forwarding is included too: free URL forwarding and email forwarding from the client area.