Namecheap

Richard Kirkendall started Namecheap in Phoenix in 2000, first reselling domains through eNom and later as an ICANN-accredited registrar in its own right. The selling points were low prices, a checkout without a gauntlet of upsells, and free WHOIS privacy at a time when competitors charged for it.

The breakthrough came in the winter of 2011–2012, when GoDaddy backed the US anti-piracy bill SOPA. Reddit declared a domain moving day, Namecheap offered a discount under the coupon code "SOPAsucks", and tens of thousands of domains arrived within days. GoDaddy reversed its position; the domains did not move back. With much of its staff based in Ukraine, Namecheap cut off Russian customers in 2022.