News

X To Sell Rare Usernames For Up To Seven Figures

The platform’s new handle marketplace lets paid users claim dormant usernames, with some priced in the millions.

Published

3 weeks ago

October 21, 2025

x to sell rare usernames for up to seven figures

X has opened a marketplace for inactive usernames, turning what was once a common but very “grey” trade into an official channel. Paying subscribers can now buy or request dormant handles — and the most coveted may cost more than a million dollars.

Two categories are on offer. “Priority” handles cover full names or phrases such as @PizzaEater or @GabrielJones. These are tied to Premium+ and Business subscriptions, which must stay active or the handle can be revoked. “Rare” handles — short or generic names like @one or @fly — will be sold through invitation-only sales or public drops. Some may be given away “based on merit,” a term X links to user engagement and past contributions.

Prices for rare handles start around $2,500 and can rise into seven figures, depending on demand and cultural value. Buyers must hold a paid tier to apply but can keep the handle without renewing once it’s assigned.

X calls the project “an evolving initiative” and says it wants to set “a new standard for social media handles,” comparing it to how Community Notes reshaped transparency on the platform.

Andrew Allemann, publisher of Domain Name Wire, said the plan mirrors the expired domain market. “People have been buying and selling handles off X for a long time, and X hasn’t been getting a cut of that,” he said. “This will get some of the better handles back into use”.

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Allemann was, however, keen to point out that even if someone purchases a username on a social media platform, they don’t own any of the content they publish. “If you create your website, you control it, and people can always come to it. On social media, the single billionaire owner of it could decide they don’t like you, and it’s pretty much within their rights to kick you off”.

This latest move by X follows a string of contested reassignments — including the @X, @Music and @America handles — and shows how the company is treating usernames less as personal identifiers and more as tradable assets within its paid ecosystem.

News

AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs

Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.

Published

1 week ago

November 1, 2025

Nour Nasir

AltoVolo

AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.

The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.

“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.

The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.

To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.

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Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.

Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.