Now an IPv4 address can be used as business collateral.

IPv4.Global has introduced an innovative lending system that allows companies to use IPv4 addresses as collateral, marking an unprecedented initiative in the market. This financing model is based on previous developments made by Cogent, which offers financial instruments backed by revenue from the leasing of IPv4 addresses.

Unlike Cogent's approach, IPv4.Global's proposal allows users to directly use their addresses as collateral while still maintaining full use of them. This means that companies can obtain financing while continuing to use their assigned addresses.

Lee Howard, Senior Vice President of IPv4.Global, stated: "We have successfully implemented our loan program for a data center operator, enabling them to expand their cloud business, making us the first and only company to offer loans backed by IPv4 addresses currently." He also emphasized that IPv4.Global operates in the buying, selling, leasing, and now also lending of blocks of IPv4 addresses, covering transactions of any size and surpassing the volume of transfers from other providers globally.

In the official communication, no specific details were provided regarding the minimum or maximum IPv4 address requirements needed to qualify for a loan. However, the company presents itself as a broker that facilitates the transfer of IP addresses from companies that no longer need them to those that do, thus monetizing hidden assets that these companies may not be aware of. To date, it has mediated the sale of over 55 million IP addresses and completed more than 3,000 transactions.

Despite the growth in IPv6 adoption, the demand for IPv4 addresses remains high, given that transition costs and infrastructure modifications can be prohibitive. In this context, it is anticipated that AWS will begin charging companies for the use of IPv4 addresses starting in 2024, while not applying an additional cost for the use of IPv6, hoping that more customers will make the transition.