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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.

FBFenwei BianAuthorVZVictor 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.

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Contributors

Fenwei Bian

Software Developer & Writer • Namefi
Author

Fenwei Bian is a software developer in her thirties who spends her working hours in pull requests and her weekends with her hands in soil or sawdust. Years of open source on GitHub taught her that names are interfaces: a good one is clear, honest about what it does, and kind to whoever has to use it next.

She gardens because it rewards patience and punishes wishful thinking, and she does woodwork because a joint either fits or it doesn't. Both habits show up in how she writes about naming — measure twice, check the source, and don't sand over a rough spot and hope no one notices.

For Namefi she writes about how domain markets actually move, the practical trade-offs of tokenizing and flipping names, and picking a domain you'll still be glad you own in twenty years.

GitHub

Victor Zhou

Founder & Standards Editor • Namefi
Editor

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.

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