RIR Updates & IPv4 Industry News
In the world of Internet numbering resources, staying informed about Regional Internet Registry (RIR) developments and broader IPv4 market dynamics is essential. With the free pools of IPv4 addresses long exhausted across all major registries, the landscape in 2026 continues to evolve through secondary transfers, leasing arrangements, policy refinements, and shifting supply-demand balances. This category serves as your go-to source for timely, in-depth coverage of these changes—helping network operators, ISPs, cloud providers, hosting companies, and enterprises navigate the realities of IPv4 scarcity.Why This Category Matters in 2026IPv4 addresses remain a critical, finite resource even as IPv6 adoption grows steadily. Most organizations still rely on IPv4 for compatibility with legacy systems, email deliverability, certain cloud integrations, IoT deployments, and customer reachability in dual-stack environments. Key drivers keeping IPv4 relevant include:Ongoing demand from expanding networks, AI infrastructure, edge computing, and content delivery.
Limited new supply—only recycled addresses from returns, revocations, or recoveries enter circulation.
Regional variations in policy, transfer activity, and pricing that directly impact acquisition costs and strategies.

Tracking RIR announcements, transfer statistics, policy proposals, and market reports allows readers to anticipate price movements, prepare for justified need requirements, evaluate inter-RIR transfer opportunities, and make smarter decisions on buying, selling, or leasing IPv4 blocks.

What You’ll Find Here
We regularly publish articles on:Latest Transfer Statistics and Trends — Monthly or quarterly breakdowns of IPv4 transfer volumes across ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC, LACNIC, and AFRINIC. For instance, 2025 saw robust activity, with RIPE NCC consistently leading in transfers (often 4–5 million+ addresses annually), while ARIN showed notable increases in some periods. Inter-RIR transfers continue to facilitate global redistribution, though with varying rules (e.g., needs-based justification in ARIN vs. more permissive policies in RIPE NCC).

Market Pricing and Forecasts — Updates on IPv4 address pricing trends. We explore forecasts, including factors like macroeconomic conditions, inventory levels, and potential accumulation phases.

RIR Policy Changes and Updates — Summaries of new or proposed policies from the five RIRs. Recent comparative overviews (e.g., NRO’s 2025-Q4 report) highlight convergence on scarcity management, stronger accountability, and transfer rules. We cover waiting list distributions (e.g., ARIN’s ongoing unmet requests process), reserved pool reductions, lock periods, anti-flip measures, and leasing policy debates.

Regional Spotlights — Deep dives into each RIR:ARIN (North America): Focus on needs-based transfers (NRPM 8.3/8.4), waiting list activity, reserved holdings (~5.6M addresses at end-2025), and pre-approval processes.
RIPE NCC (Europe, Middle East, Central Asia): High transfer enthusiasm, permissive temporary transfer options supporting leasing, and consistent high-volume activity.

APNIC (Asia-Pacific): Remaining available pool contributions, inter-RIR flows, and occasional tighter supply dynamics.
LACNIC and AFRINIC: Notable outflows in some years, policy impacts on regional markets, and unique challenges like legacy holdings or governance discussions.

Broader Industry News — Regulatory impacts, IPv6 transition milestones affecting IPv4 demand, brokerage market shifts, and expert analyses (e.g., Geoff Huston’s annual “IP Addresses Through [Year]” reports from APNIC/ARIN blogs).

How This Helps You
Whether you’re planning an IPv4 acquisition to bypass long wait times, optimizing costs through leasing, preparing documentation for a transfer, or simply monitoring how global policies influence your network strategy, these updates deliver actionable insights. In a post-exhaustion era where IPv4 is traded as a valuable asset, being ahead of RIR announcements and market shifts can mean the difference between securing clean, routable blocks quickly and facing delays or higher costs.Subscribe or check back frequently—IPv4 news moves fast, and we break it down clearly so you can focus on building and scaling your network.