15 min read
This report analyzes the IPv4 transfer market for First Half 2024, based on completed IPv4Center marketplace transactions and official RIR transfer records.
Executive Summary
The IPv4 transfer market moved 641,792 addresses across 343 transactions in the first half of 2024, generating $21.8 million in total transaction value. The average price per IP landed at $33.22, down 6.1% from the $35.38 average recorded in the second half of 2023 and off 19.2% year-over-year versus H1 2023. The median price of $32.50 sat slightly below the mean, suggesting a distribution skewed by a handful of premium ARIN transactions at the top end. Transaction volume rose 6.2% from the prior half, meaning more deals got done — just at lower prices. The trend remains firmly downward, with prices declining for a third consecutive period.Market Overview
| Transactions | 343 |
| IP Addresses Traded | 641,792 |
| Estimated Market Value | $21,813,123 |
| Average Price / IP | $33.22 |
| Median Price / IP | $32.50 |
| RIR Transfers | 5,171 |
Year-over-Year Comparison
| Metric | This period | A year earlier (H1 2023) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transactions | 343 | 220 | +55.9% |
| IP Addresses Traded | 641,792 | 779,520 | -17.7% |
| Estimated Market Value | $21,813,123 | $36,390,182 | -40.1% |
| Average Price / IP | $33.22 | $41.09 | -19.2% |
| RIR Transfers | 5,171 | 4,282 | +20.8% |
Price Dynamics
The pricing range in H1 2024 ran from a floor of $26/IP to a ceiling of $50.12/IP — a $24.12 spread that reflects persistent fragmentation between distressed inventory and premium clean blocks. That high watermark of $50.12 came out of APNIC, while ARIN produced the bulk of transactions above $40. The 6.1% half-over-half decline and 19.2% annual drop are impossible to dismiss as noise; this is a market repricing. The regression line points to further softening — our model projects $31.61 next month and $31.40 by December. Sellers who waited for a bounce through the first half didn't get one, and the data doesn't suggest they'll get one in the second half either.
Pricing by RIR
ARIN continues to command the highest per-IP pricing in the market, and it isn't close. At $35.11 average across 141 transactions, ARIN blocks carry a $2.99 premium over RIPE and a $3.44 premium over APNIC — roughly a 10% surcharge that reflects the relative ease of ARIN transfers and strong US-based demand. RIPE settled at $32.12 average on 107 deals, a solid middle ground considering the 24-month holding rule that constrains speculative flipping. APNIC came in at $31.67 across 92 transactions, with the widest max-min spread of any RIR ($27 to $50.12), pointing to highly variable block quality. LACNIC barely registered — just 3 transactions at $31.33 average. AFRINIC recorded zero transactions.ARIN: $35.11/IP across 141 transactions (41.1% of volume).
RIPE NCC: $32.12/IP across 107 transactions (26.7% of volume).
APNIC: $31.67/IP across 92 transactions (30.1% of volume).
LACNIC: $31.33/IP across 3 transactions (1.8% of volume).
AFRINIC: No recorded transactions.
| RIR | Transactions | Avg $/IP | Median $/IP | IPs Traded | RIR Transfers | Next Month (proj.) | Year-End (proj.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIPE | 107 | $32.12 | $32.00 | 171,264 | 3,383 | $32.50 | $32.00 |
| ARIN | 141 | $35.11 | $35.00 | 266,240 | 1,788 | $33.00 | $33.50 |
| APNIC | 92 | $31.67 | $30.50 | 193,024 | 0 | $29.00 | $28.50 |
| LACNIC | 3 | $31.33 | $30.00 | 11,264 | 0 | $29.50 | $28.00 |
Transaction Volume
Supply & Block Sizes
The /24 block dominated deal flow again, accounting for 137 of 343 transactions — roughly 40% of all deals. This is the workhorse block for small and mid-size operators who need a routeable allocation without the capital outlay of a /20 or larger. The gravitational pull toward smaller blocks shows up in the average deal size, which collapsed to 63,595 IPs from 103,959 in H2 2023 and 165,410 in H1 2023 — a 61.5% decline year-over-year that signals a structural shift in buyer profiles toward smaller purchasers.
Geographic Activity
Country-level transaction data was not reported for this period, limiting geographic granularity. Based on RIR distribution, North American demand (ARIN at 41.1% of volume) drove the plurality of activity, with European and Asia-Pacific markets splitting the remainder roughly evenly. The absence of AFRINIC transactions for a second consecutive period underscores the governance and transfer-policy challenges that continue to freeze that market.Registry Transfer Activity
Official RIR transfer registries logged 5,171 transfers during H1 2024 — a figure that includes both market-based sales and intra-organizational moves. RIPE led with 3,383 recorded transfers, accounting for 65.4% of total transfer activity, versus ARIN's 1,788 (34.6%). The gap between RIPE's transfer volume and its share of priced transactions (only 31.2% of our tracked deals) suggests a significant portion of RIPE transfers are non-market reorganizations or below our reporting threshold.Long-Run Transfer Trends
Over the trailing 18 months, the transfer registries have recorded 14,360 total transfers across ARIN and RIPE. Activity peaked in March 2024, which aligned with Q1 budget deployments and the tail end of several large enterprise procurement cycles. RIPE accounted for 64.5% of the 18-month transfer total versus ARIN's 35.5%, a ratio that has been stable for several quarters and reflects RIPE's larger and more fragmented holder base.| RIR | RIR Transfers |
|---|---|
| RIPE | 9,262 |
| ARIN | 5,098 |
| RIR Transfers | 14,360 |
Outlook & Forecast
Forecasting each block-size band and RIR separately with our AI model:
The overall average price per IP is projected to reach $31.40 by December 2024, with a next-month estimate of $31.61 per IP.
- RIPE: projected at $32.50 per IP next month, trending toward $32.00 by December 2024.
- ARIN: projected at $33.00 per IP next month, trending toward $33.50 by December 2024.
- APNIC: projected at $29.00 per IP next month, trending toward $28.50 by December 2024.
- LACNIC: projected at $29.50 per IP next month, trending toward $28.00 by December 2024.
- AFRINIC: insufficient data for a reliable forecast.
Forecast by Block Size
| Block | Current $/IP | Next Month | Year-End | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /24 | $30.75 | $31.00 (+0.8%) | $30.00 (-2.4%) | medium |
| /23 | $32.50 | $32.00 (-1.5%) | $31.50 (-3.1%) | medium |
| /22 | $32.50 | $32.50 (0.0%) | $33.00 (+1.5%) | medium |
| /21 | $30.00 | $30.00 (0.0%) | $30.00 (0.0%) | low |
| /20 | $30.84 | $31.00 (+0.5%) | $32.00 (+3.8%) | low |
| /19 | $36.00 | $35.50 (-1.4%) | $36.00 (0.0%) | low |
| /18-/16 | $36.50 | $36.50 (0.0%) | $37.50 (+2.7%) | low |
| /15-up | $51.50 | $50.00 (-2.9%) | $52.00 (+1.0%) | low |
Editor's Take: Buy vs. Lease
The buy-versus-lease calculus shifted further toward buying in H1 2024. At $33.22 per IP purchased and $0.5859 per IP per month in lease costs, the breakeven point sits at 56.7 months — just under 4.7 years. Any operator planning to use addresses beyond that horizon is leaving money on the table by leasing. The implied annual yield on a leased block is 21.2%, which is extraordinary by any asset-class standard and tells you that lease pricing hasn't caught up with the decline in purchase prices. For buyers: the math says buy now and lock in sub-$34 pricing before potential stabilization. For lessors: enjoy the yield while it lasts, because rational tenants will increasingly reach the same conclusion and shift to ownership.| /24 Purchase price | $8,504 |
| /24 Lease price | $150 / mo |
| Payback period | 56.7 mo (4.7 yr) |
| Gross annual yield | 21.2% |
What This Means for You
Buyers: You're operating in a buyer's market for the first time in years. The 19.2% year-over-year price decline gives you real negotiating leverage, particularly on APNIC and RIPE blocks where pricing averages $31–32. If your holding horizon exceeds five years, purchasing outright beats leasing on pure economics. Don't wait for a bottom — the forecast suggests further modest declines, but another $1–2 of downside isn't worth the risk of missing clean inventory.Sellers: The window for $40+ exits on standard blocks is narrowing fast outside of pristine ARIN allocations. If you're sitting on inventory you acquired above $35, the math on holding costs starts to work against you each quarter prices slide. Consider whether partial disposition — selling larger blocks in smaller chunks at the /24 premium — recovers more value than a bulk exit.
Leasers: Monthly rates around $0.59/IP ($150 per /24) remain elevated relative to falling purchase prices. If your address needs are stable and multi-year, the 56.7-month payback period on purchasing versus leasing is a clear signal. Short-term or project-based needs still favor leasing, but run the numbers on anything beyond 2027.
Block Holders: If you're not actively using or monetizing your blocks, the 21.2% implied annual yield from leasing is compelling — but it assumes you can maintain occupancy. As purchase prices fall, tenant churn will increase. Lock in longer lease terms where possible.
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IPv4 Pricing by Block Size
The /24 continues to carry a meaningful per-IP premium — small-block buyers consistently pay $34–38 per IP for clean, routeable /24s, versus $28–32 for /20 and larger blocks bought in bulk. This premium has actually widened slightly as average deal sizes shrank 38.8% from H2 2023, concentrating more demand at the small end. For /16 blocks, per-IP pricing drops into the high $20s, but those deals are rare — only 2 transactions exceeded $1 million in H1, totaling $2.18M.| Block | IPs | Buy: /IP | Buy: Total | Lease: /IP/mo | Lease: Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /24 | 256 | $35–45 | $8,960–11,520 | $0.38–0.50 | $97–128 |
| /22 | 1,024 | $28–38 | $28,672–38,912 | $0.33–0.45 | $338–461 |
| /20 | 4,096 | $22–32 | $90,112–131,072 | $0.30–0.40 | $1,229–1,638 |
| /18 | 16,384 | $20–30 | $327,680–491,520 | $0.30–0.38 | $4,915–6,226 |
| /16 | 65,536 | $18–28 | $1,179,648–1,835,008 | $0.30–0.35 | $19,661–22,938 |
IPv4 Price History: 2011–2026
IPv4 addresses traded near zero when IANA exhaustion hit in 2011. Prices climbed steadily through the 2010s, accelerating past $20/IP by 2019 and peaking near $55–60/IP in late 2022 during a speculative surge fueled by pandemic-era IT expansion and cheap financing. The market cracked in 2023 after AWS began charging $0.005/hour per public IPv4 address — a move that repriced the implicit subsidy hyperscalers had been absorbing and immediately softened demand for purchased blocks. At $33.22, prices have now round-tripped to roughly 2021 levels, and the bifurcation between premium (clean, ARIN, small-block) and commodity (legacy, unclean, large-block) inventory is the defining feature of the current market.| Year | ~Price/IP | Key Event |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $7–12 | IANA free pool exhausted; Microsoft/Nortel deal ($11.25/IP) |
| 2012 | $8–12 | RIPE NCC reaches last /8; begins /22-only allocation |
| 2014 | $10–15 | LACNIC free pool exhausted |
| 2015 | $8–15 | ARIN free pool exhausted |
| 2017–18 | $12–18 | Leasing market grows; cloud demand rises |
| 2019 | $18–24 | RIPE NCC exhausts remaining free pool |
| 2021–22 | $50–60+ | Post-pandemic peak; hyperscaler build-outs |
| 2024 | $35–52 | AWS IPv4 charge ($0.005/IP/hr); large block correction |
| 2025–26 | $18–45 | Market bifurcation; /16s below $20 for first time since 2019 |
Market Structure: Who Is Buying & Selling
The buyer side has shifted noticeably toward smaller operators. Average deal size collapsed from 165,410 IPs in H1 2023 to 63,595 in H1 2024 — a 61.5% decline that tells you the hyperscaler and large-ISP procurement wave has largely run its course. On the sell side, legacy holders and corporate restructurings continue to feed supply into the market, aided by IP asset discovery firms that help organizations identify unused allocations. The 245 transactions under $50K (71.4% of all deals) confirm this is increasingly a small-buyer market.IPv4 vs. Other Asset Classes
At a 21.2% implied annual yield from leasing, IPv4 addresses outperform virtually every conventional asset class on a current-income basis. US 10-year Treasuries yield roughly 4.3%, investment-grade commercial real estate cap rates sit around 6–7%, and the S&P 500 dividend yield is under 1.5%. The catch is depreciation risk: prices fell 19.2% year-over-year, which wipes out the yield advantage for anyone who purchased at peak. On a total-return basis, buyers who entered at today's $33.22 and lease the blocks are looking at a genuinely attractive risk-adjusted profile — provided the price floor holds somewhere in the low $30s.| Asset Class | Typical Yield | Liquidity | Primary Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPv4 | 21.2% | Moderate | IPv6 adoption, block quality |
| Commercial Real Estate | 5–8% | Low | Vacancy, rate cycle |
| Investment-Grade Bonds | 4–5% | High | Duration, credit risk |
| S&P 500 | ~1,3% | High | Market volatility |
| Money Market / T-Bills | ~4–5% | High | Rate cycle changes |
IPv6 Adoption & Why IPv4 Remains Essential
IPv6 adoption continues its glacial advance. Google's IPv6 connectivity metrics hover around 43–45% globally, but the distribution is wildly uneven — several major Asian and African markets remain below 10%. The vast majority of enterprise applications, VPN infrastructure, content delivery configurations, and IoT management platforms still require IPv4 reachability. Dual-stack will be the operational reality for at least another decade, and that means IPv4 blocks retain functional value well beyond any theoretical expiration date.AI & Cloud Infrastructure Demand
AI infrastructure buildout is the one bright spot for IPv4 demand growth. Large-scale GPU clusters require routable address space for management planes, inference API endpoints, and data pipeline connectivity — and most organizations provisioning these environments prefer purchased blocks to cloud-provider allocations for latency and control reasons. The effect on aggregate demand is still modest relative to traditional ISP and enterprise consumption, but it's the only buyer category we've seen expand volume quarter-over-quarter through the H1 2024 price decline.What Determines IPv4 Block Value
Not all /24s are created equal. The three factors that most reliably move pricing are blacklist cleanliness (a block with Spamhaus or UCEProtect listings trades at 15–25% discounts), RIR origin (ARIN commands a $3+ premium over APNIC, as the data confirms), and allocation age — older blocks with long, traceable histories are perceived as lower risk. Transferability rules matter too: RIPE's 24-month holding requirement and APNIC's needs-based justification create friction that directly depresses pricing in those registries versus ARIN's comparatively frictionless process.Sell vs. Lease: A Decision Framework
In a declining-price environment, leasing preserves optionality. If you believe prices will stabilize near $31 by year-end (as our model projects), leasing at $0.59/IP/month generates 21.2% annual yield while retaining the option to sell if conditions change. Selling makes sense for holders who acquired blocks below $25 and want to lock in gains, or for organizations that lack the infrastructure to manage lease relationships. The worst position is holding unused blocks without monetizing them — you're absorbing depreciation with no offsetting income.| /24 Purchase price | $8,504 |
| /24 Lease price | $150 / mo |
| Payback period | 56.7 mo (4.7 yr) |
| Gross annual yield | 21.2% |
RIPE NCC 24-Month Transfer Restriction
RIPE NCC's 24-month holding requirement remains the single most impactful policy constraint on European IPv4 supply. Blocks acquired through transfer cannot be re-transferred for two years, which effectively removes speculative intermediaries from the RIPE market and constrains short-term supply. The rule depresses RIPE pricing relative to ARIN (where no such restriction exists) by discouraging buyers who might otherwise pay a premium for quick-flip optionality. For long-term holders, the rule is actually supportive — it reduces speculative competition and stabilizes lease income.Deal Size Distribution
The deal-size distribution in H1 2024 skewed heavily toward small transactions. Of 343 deals, 245 (71.4%) fell under $50K, generating $4.04M in aggregate value. The $50K–$250K band accounted for 77 deals worth $8.3M, while 19 transactions in the $250K–$1M range produced $6.8M. Only 2 deals exceeded $1M, totaling $2.18M. Average deal size of 63,595 IPs is down 38.8% from H2 2023's 103,959 and down 61.5% from H1 2023's 165,410 — a clear trend toward retail-sized procurement.Top Trading Countries
Country-level data was unavailable for this period. The RIR-level breakdown serves as a rough geographic proxy: ARIN's 41.1% share points to sustained North American activity, RIPE's 31.2% reflects steady European demand, and APNIC's 26.8% confirms ongoing Asia-Pacific procurement. The three LACNIC transactions suggest Latin American IPv4 markets remain thin and opaque, constrained by limited broker infrastructure and regional transfer-policy complexity.BEAD Broadband Program Impact
The $42.45 billion BEAD program began issuing subgrants to states in H1 2024, and the IPv4 implications are still ahead of us. As hundreds of small and mid-size ISPs build out last-mile broadband in unserved areas, each will need routeable address space — predominantly /22 through /20 blocks. We expect BEAD-related demand to hit the market in late 2024 through 2026 as construction timelines activate, creating a potential demand floor for mid-size ARIN blocks precisely in the range where pricing has softened most.Hyperscaler IPv4 Holdings
Amazon, Microsoft, and Google collectively control an estimated 100+ million IPv4 addresses — more than many RIRs. AWS's February 2024 enforcement of the $0.005/hour public IPv4 charge continues to reverberate through the market, pushing customers to release unused elastic IPs and reducing net demand for purchased blocks. If any hyperscaler decided to monetize even 5–10% of its holdings through the transfer market, the supply shock would drive prices well below $30. That risk remains the single largest overhang on IPv4 valuations.Macroeconomic Conditions & Market Impact
The Federal Reserve held rates at 5.25–5.50% through H1 2024, keeping cost of capital elevated for debt-financed IP acquisitions. Enterprise IT budgets showed mixed signals — Gartner projected 8% growth in overall IT spending, but much of that flowed to AI and cloud services rather than infrastructure assets like IPv4 blocks. Higher rates also raise the opportunity cost of tying capital up in IP addresses versus risk-free alternatives, which partly explains why deal sizes shrank and buyers concentrated on smaller, operationally necessary purchases rather than speculative accumulation.Model Update & Calibration
As part of our continuous improvement process, we backtested previous forecasts against realised prices and fine-tuned the model accordingly. Recent months now carry more influence than older data, and the confidence bands have been widened or narrowed based on how well they captured actual outcomes in the past. You can see the full backtest results in the table and chart below.
| Report Period | Target Month | Predicted | Actual | Deviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2024-01 | $33 | $34 | -2% |
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-07 | $37 | $36 | +1% |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-10 | $35 | $35 | 0% |
| 2023-H2 | 2024-01 | $34 | $34 | -1% |
| 2023-Q4 | 2024-01 | $34 | $34 | -1% |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-04 | $32 | $34 | -8% |
Methodology
Figures are based on completed IPv4Center marketplace transactions and RIR transfer statistics. Prices are in US dollars per IP address. Forecasts are produced by an AI model that analyses each block-size band and RIR segment separately (with outlier-trimmed medians) alongside known market catalysts; they are estimates, not guarantees.
Data Sources
- Hilco Streambank — Completed auction transaction records
- RIPE NCC — Inter-RIR and intra-RIR transfer statistics
- ARIN — North American transfer reports and waiting list data
- APNIC — Asia-Pacific transfer records
- LACNIC — Latin American and Caribbean transfer data
- IPv4Center.com — Proprietary marketplace transaction and lease pricing data
This report is generated automatically for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the average IPv4 price in First Half 2024?
During First Half 2024, IPv4 addresses traded at an average of $33.22 per IP, with a median of $32.50.
Which RIR had the most expensive IPv4 addresses in First Half 2024?
ARIN recorded the highest average per-IP price during First Half 2024.
What's the IPv4 price forecast looking like?
Based on regression analysis of historical data, per-IP pricing is projected near $31.40 by December 2024. Keep in mind this is a projection, not a guarantee.
Should I buy or lease IPv4 right now?
At current price levels, buying pays back in roughly 56.7 months of equivalent lease payments. Below about 90 months, buying usually makes better long-term sense; above that, leasing helps preserve capital.