New Report Finds AI Agents Are Devouring the Internet's Scarce Addresses

Rhea-AI Summary

Escrow.com (FRLCY) released the inaugural IPv4 Investment Index, analyzing a $15 billion secondary market for scarce IPv4 addresses using $536 million of transaction data from 82 countries.

Key Q1 2026 findings include a 66% year-over-year jump in average deal size and 522,000 IPs traded, amid AI-driven demand and expected further tightening from the US $22 billion BEAD broadband program.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Positive

• Launch of IPv4 Investment Index using $536 million in verified transactions
• Q1 2026 average IPv4 deal size up 66% year-over-year
• 522,000 IPv4 addresses traded via Escrow.com in Q1 2026
• Record single IPv4 transaction of $43.1 million completed in Q3 2024
• Market for IPv4 addresses estimated at $15 billion over eight years

Negative

• IPv4 address waiting list of 12–20 months with 1,024-address cap
• Leading brokers report growing backlogs for large IPv4 address blocks
• Industry participants expect BEAD’s $22 billion funding to tighten IPv4 supply further

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New report and video investigation reveal a $15 billion market nobody's heard of - now surging as AI agents devour the Internet's scarcest resource.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / May 26, 2026 / Every device on the internet - every phone, every server, every AI chatbot - needs a digital address to communicate. There are only 4.3 billion of them. They ran out 15 years ago. And right now, demand is surging faster than at any point in the past decade.

AI agents appear to be responsible. Every autonomous AI system operating on the internet requires its own IPv4 address - and with the agentic AI boom accelerating, the market for these scarce digital assets has shifted dramatically. Leading brokers report selling more large address blocks in six weeks than in the prior twelve months. Prices are climbing. Backlogs are growing. And the US government has earmarked $22 billion in broadband infrastructure funding that industry participants expect to tighten supply even further.

Yet until now, no comprehensive public data has existed on this market.

Today, Escrow.com - the world's largest online escrow provider - publishes the inaugural Escrow.com IPv4 Investment Index: a quarterly report based on proprietary transaction data spanning $536 million in completed deals across 82 countries. Alongside the report, Escrow.com is releasing a video investigation featuring interviews filmed inside one of the southern hemisphere's largest data centres, with one of the world's leading IPv4 brokers, and with holders who discovered they were sitting on forgotten internet assets worth millions.

Key Findings

• Q1 2026 average deal size surged 66% year-over-year as demand for large blocks accelerated

• 522,000 IP addresses changed hands through Escrow.com in Q1 2026 alone - on pace for the busiest year since 2020

• The largest single IPv4 transaction in Escrow.com history - $43.1 million - was completed in Q3 2024

• AWS holds an estimated 191 million IPv4 addresses worth approximately $6.7 billion - and charges customers up to $1 billion annually for access

• The official waiting list for new address allocations is 12 - 20 months. Maximum allocation: just 1,024 addresses

• Leading brokers predict prices will double by year-end

Why This Data Matters

IPv4 addresses are traded in a secondary market estimated at $15 billion over the past eight years - yet the market has operated with almost no public transparency. Prices, volumes, and geographic flows have been invisible to everyone outside a small circle of specialist brokers. The IPv4 Investment Index is the first regular publication to open this market to scrutiny, using verified transaction data from the platform that settles many of the world's highest-value IPv4 transfers.

"Most people have not heard of IPv4 addresses, but the entire world runs on them - whether it's AI, cloud, your mobile phone, telco infrastructure, or your home internet connection," said Matt Barrie, Chief Executive of Escrow.com. "We're launching this index to give a market of this scale the transparency it deserves."

The Indiana Joneses of the Internet

With no new IPv4 addresses being created, specialist brokers scour more than 60 countries to track down dormant address blocks - tracing ownership through decades of corporate history, dissolved companies, and forgotten allocations from the 1980s.

"These brokers are like the Indiana Joneses of the internet," said Barrie. "They're trekking to far-flung corners of the world - former Soviet republics, defunct universities, and retired engineers' estates - to find addresses that were allocated decades ago and have been sitting unused ever since."

The report and video feature Jake Brander, President of Brander Group - one of the world's leading IPv4 brokerages - who describes the market's recent shift.

"Agentic AI kind of blew up the whole industry," Brander said. "Overnight, we just had an explosion of customers coming in. We are currently backlogged."

Brander predicts /16 blocks - currently trading at $10 - 13 per IP - will reach $20 per IP by year-end, with midsize blocks climbing to $20 - 30. His firm has facilitated individual engagements exceeding $120 million.

The BEAD Factor

The US government's $22 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program - designed to expand rural internet access through regional ISPs - has yet to release its funds. When it does, industry participants expect a further tightening of IPv4 supply.

"We've already had an explosion leading into this other explosion that's going to occur," Brander said.

The Report and Video

The full IPv4 Investment Index is available at https://www.escrow.com/ipv4/ipv4-investment-index-reports

The accompanying video investigation - filmed inside NextDC's data centre in Sydney, with interviews featuring IPv4 brokers, data centre operators, address holders, and the Escrow.com CEO - is also viewable at https://www.escrow.com/ipv4

About Escrow.com

Winner of the BBB Torch Award for Ethics for Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the Bay Area, Escrow.com is the world's largest online escrow provider. Founded in 1999 by Fidelity National Financial, today over US$8 billion in transactions have been secured from over 3 million customers. Escrow.com is the world's number one platform for domain name transactions - it also facilitates large-value transactions for vehicles, property, electronics, jewellery, general merchandise and other categories of products, using the most secure payment method from a counterparty risk perspective - safeguarding both buyer and seller. All funds transacted using escrow are kept in trust.

The company is a division of Freelancer Limited (ASX:FLN)(OTCQX:FRLCY). Escrow.com's headquarters is in San Francisco, California, in the United States.

For more information, contact:
Brent O'Halloran - Director of Communications
bohalloran@escrow.com | +1 650 442 3334

SOURCE: Escrow.com

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

FAQ

What is the Escrow.com IPv4 Investment Index announced on May 26, 2026 for FRLCY?

The Escrow.com IPv4 Investment Index is a quarterly report tracking IPv4 address trading, based on $536 million of completed deals across 82 countries. According to Escrow.com, it provides long-missing transparency on prices, volumes, and geographic flows in this $15 billion market.

How are AI agents affecting IPv4 address demand in 2026?

AI agents are described as a key driver of surging IPv4 demand, since each autonomous AI system operating online needs its own IPv4 address. According to Escrow.com and industry brokers, this “agentic AI” boom has accelerated large-block purchases and pushed prices and backlogs higher.

What were the key Q1 2026 IPv4 market findings in Escrow.com’s FRLCY report?

Key Q1 2026 findings include a 66% year-over-year jump in average deal size and 522,000 IPv4 addresses traded through Escrow.com. According to Escrow.com, this activity puts 2026 on pace for the busiest year since 2020 in IPv4 secondary trading.

How much are IPv4 addresses worth and what price outlook does the report describe?

Escrow.com cites an estimated $15 billion IPv4 secondary market over eight years, with /16 blocks currently around $10–13 per IP. According to broker Jake Brander, prices for /16 and midsize blocks could reach $20–30 per IP by year-end.

What is the impact of the US BEAD broadband program on IPv4 addresses?

The US Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program allocates $22 billion to expand rural internet via regional ISPs. According to industry participants cited by Escrow.com, releasing these funds is expected to tighten IPv4 supply even further in an already constrained market.

Why is there an IPv4 address shortage and how long is the current wait?

IPv4 addresses are limited to about 4.3 billion, and the free pool was exhausted roughly 15 years ago. According to Escrow.com, the current official waiting list for new allocations is 12–20 months, with a maximum allocation of just 1,024 addresses.

How large was the biggest IPv4 transaction handled by Escrow.com (FRLCY)?

The largest single IPv4 transaction settled through Escrow.com reached $43.1 million in Q3 2024. According to Escrow.com, this record deal underscores the high-value nature of large IPv4 address blocks as digital assets in the secondary market.