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Cross-registrar transfer

Moving a domain's registration from one ICANN registrar to another using an auth code, while keeping the same owner and the same name.

Namefi TeamNamefi TeamAuthorVictor ZhouVictor ZhouEditorJune 30, 2025
  • glossary

Cross-registrar transfer is the process of moving a domain from one registrar to another, traditionally requiring auth codes, waiting periods, and coordination between registrars. This process can take days or weeks and may involve fees from both registrars. With tokenized domains, while the underlying DNS registration may still require traditional transfer processes, the ownership token can be transferred instantly between wallets. This separation allows for immediate trading and ownership changes at the token level, while DNS management can be handled separately. Advanced tokenization models might even automate cross-registrar transfers through smart contracts, significantly reducing the complexity and time required to move domains between different service providers.

Related keywords

  • cross-registrar transfer
  • registrar transfer
  • domain migration
  • transfer process
  • tokenization

Contributors

Namefi TeamAuthor
Namefi Team • Namefi

Namefi is a collective of engineers, designers, and operators who obsess over building tools that make managing your onchain domain names effortless.

Victor ZhouEditor
Founder & Standards Editor • Namefi

Victor Zhou is a technology founder and standards editor focused on digital identity and trust. He founded Namefi, edits Ethereum Improvement Proposals, and previously led smart-contract architecture work at Google Labs.

His work sits at the intersection of naming, ownership, and the systems people use to establish identity online. That perspective makes him especially interested in the way names move between personal meaning, public recognition, and digital infrastructure.

For Namefi, Victor edits and writes about domains as durable digital identity: how names become ownable onchain assets, how tokenization changes custody and trust, and what naming can learn from the systems people use to establish identity online.