Re: [EXTERNAL] dumb question: are any of the RIR's out of IPv4 addresses?

[John Curran <jcurran () arin net>]

On 16 Feb 2021, at 6:50 PM, Niels Bakker <niels=nanog () bakker net> wrote:
> * nanog () nanog org (Mann, Jason via NANOG) [Wed 17 Feb 2021, 00:44 CET]:
> > Are their legtimate websites to go to purchase new blocks?
>
> IPv4 is not like Bitcoin, new addresses aren't being mined using gigantic amounts of electricity at enormous 
> environmental cost.

Niels - 

        True, but there is some similarity between IPv4 market and bitcoin due to market operations…  i.e.  when the 
price of bitcoin goes up, folks are encouraged to explore additional mining – fFor IPv4, when the price goes up, folks 
invest resources looking for poorly utilized IPv4 blocks (their own or others) in order to free them up for 
monetization.  Given the rich and colorful decades of issuance under varying policies, there’s quite a bit of space out 
there to be “mined”

        (It’s also worth noting that at a higher price points, parties with IPv4 are encouraged to explore IPv6 and 
IPv4 NAT to free up even their well-utilized IPv4 resources – effectively resulting in a very large latent “supply” if 
the price points should get high enough…)

FYI,
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers