Hi there,

I am the owner of several gTLDs and gTLDs domains for my current and future business projects. My main concern is not about evaluating the value of these domains, but rather understanding how I can identify high and low-risk TLDs. This way, I can avoid using high-risk TLDs for long-term projects, as they may pose a threat to my business in terms of fraudulent vendors, registrar issues, collapses, sudden price changes, poor security, or any other issues that could potentially harm my domain.

Legacy gTLDs are generally considered secure due to their longstanding existence and being managed by reputable registrars. They serve as a foundation for websites. A similar level of security can be found in many old gTLDs.

On the other hand, I have also registered domain names in new gTLDs and ccTLDs in smaller or lesser-known countries. These countries may be open to selling or leasing their gTLDs to foreign investors.

My question is: How can one make better-informed decisions about the risk levels associated with different TLDs? Is there a reliable data source that evaluates all TLDs and their respective registrars?

I haven't listed the specific TLDs I currently own since there are many and they are diverse. Additionally, I plan on registering more TLDs in the future, so I would prefer a more general understanding of the topic. How would you define risk? My aim is to avoid investing significant time and money into a TLD that could potentially lead to substantial losses for my brand.

For instance, let's look at the case of .nu, which is currently operated by a Swedish company. Although it may be acceptable for a Scandinavian company instead of the Niue company, there is an increased risk involved as there is a possibility that Niue might regain control of it in the distant future.

On the other hand, there are instances where a TLD can pose a high risk. This occurs when the management company is based in an underdeveloped country and struggles to attract enough users. In such cases, when expenses exceed income, the TLD becomes practically unusable.

Another example is .gd, which carries a high risk due to its association with an underdeveloped country.

However, there are TLDs like .ac that are managed by the same company as .io, which makes them relatively better. Still, it's important to note that even though they may have some level of improvement in terms of risk, they remain somewhat risky due to their lack of popularity.