Will Alt Remain Alt After Funding?

TechCrunch just published an article about a $75 million fundraising round for a collectible card startup called Alt. The startup had previously raised $31 million in funding:

Collectible card trading platform Alt raises $75M as it eyes other asset categories and preps its mobile launch https://t.co/DvPJDhy4Dd by @grg

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) November 11, 2021

For its website, Alt uses the off-brand OnlyAlt.com domain name. An alternative to a keyword brand .com domain name like this might be a brand-match alternative extension. Ordinarily, this would probably be no big deal, but the usage of the Alt.com domain name could pose a unique challenge to the card trading platform.

According to the Alt.com search engine description page, “ALT members find alternative, erotic BDSM, bondage & fetish sex online through ALT.com as well as in person on live sex dates. ALT Singles, swingers and couples include amateurs, dominatrixes, masters, mistresses and slaves looking for domination and submission.” There have been many times where a brand match domain name is registered to other companies. That’s what happens when a startup uses a one word brand name that has a matching domain name that was created many years ago.

Alt.com is a high value domain name that I would guess is worth somewhere in the 7 figures. Since the domain name is being used for a business, it would likely be even more expensive if it is available at all.

With the card trading platform ramping up right now with substantial funding, it will be interesting to see if they opt for an alt – ernative brand name. Of course, it is very possible the card trading platform doesn’t really care. After all, it created its brand name many years after the Alt.com business had already been established.