I recently saw a post on X by Doron Vermaat about investing in .vc domains. It caught my attention mostly because it wasn't something I had ever seriously considered. After a couple of rodeos, I have developed a pretty good sense of what fits my style and what does not. I'd always written off .vc as too niche, too expensive, too far outside my wheelhouse to bother learning about. .vc had always fallen squarely into the "not for me" category, largely without much thought.
That alone felt like a reason to dig deeper.
One of the biggest mistakes domain investors make is confusing familiarity with understanding. Just because you have not participated in a niche does not mean it lacks merit. It just means you have not done the work. So instead of dismissing the idea or repeating someone else's opinion, I decided to learn what .vc actually is, who uses it, and whether there is a real investment case behind it.
The first thing I learned is that .vc is the country code top level domain for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. That fact alone explains why it often gets lumped into the same mental bucket as other repurposed country code extensions. But the real story has nothing to do with geography. In practice, .vc has been positioned and adopted as shorthand for venture capital.
That is not an accident.
In startup and tech circles, "VC" is universally understood. It is written in pitch decks, bios, job titles, and headlines every day. Because of that, .vc has found a small but very specific audience. Venture funds, angel groups, startup studios, and individual investors who want a clean and obvious signal of what they do.
That focus matters.
One of the reasons many new extensions struggle is because they try to be everything to everyone. .vc does not do that. Its relevance is narrow, but it is also clear. When you see a domain ending in .vc, you immediately know the context. That alone gives it more legitimacy than many extensions that rely on explanation.
I also noticed that adoption, while limited, is real. There are active venture firms and startup related projects using .vc domains in the wild. Not parked pages. Not experiments. Actual businesses. That is an important distinction. Usage does not guarantee resale value, but the absence of usage almost guarantees the opposite.
From an investor standpoint, pricing was the next reality check. Most strong .vc keywords are not cheap. The registry understands its niche and prices accordingly. This is not a bargain hunting extension. If you are used to picking up speculative inventory for ten dollars and hoping for volume, this will feel uncomfortable.
That is probably by design.
The more I looked at it, the clearer it became that .vc is not an investor playground. It is a branding choice. That shifts the risk profile significantly. You are not betting on broad adoption. You are betting on a very specific buyer type recognizing value and being willing to pay for clarity.
That also explains why aftermarket data is thin. Sales happen, but quietly. Many deals are private, negotiated directly, or never reported. That makes it harder for investors who rely heavily on comps and public data. You need conviction and patience to play here.
So would I suddenly start investing heavily in .vc domains? No. It does not match my core strategy, and that is fine. But I no longer dismiss it either.
What I discovered is that .vc is a tool, not a trend. It works when it aligns perfectly with the buyer's identity. For venture focused brands, it can make sense. For everyone else, it probably does not.
The real takeaway for me had nothing to do with .vc specifically. It was a reminder that staying sharp in this industry means questioning your assumptions. Even after decades in the game, there are corners of the market worth understanding, if only to know why you are choosing not to participate.
Sometimes learning confirms your instincts. Other times it challenges them. Either way, the work is what separates investors from spectators.