IPv4 Prices Found the Floor - H1 2026 Market Recovery in Numbers
Quick answer: the 2025 IPv4 correction is over. The market found its floor in the first half of 2026. January set a record for transaction volume and drew in a new wave of buyers, March delivered a measurable price increase across block sizes, and April through June confirmed the recovery. The picture is now two-track: large blocks (/16 and up) are climbing back from multi-year lows, while small /24 blocks never fell and held firm. The buyer base has broadened - hyperscalers stepped back, and demand now comes from hosting, cloud, telecom, and AI infrastructure.
The 2025 correction, briefly
2025 was a sharp correction, not a collapse. The pain was concentrated in large blocks. Blocks of /16 and larger fell more than 60% off their 2021 peak, down to USD 10 - USD 13 per address - ten-year lows. Small blocks were a different story: a /24 held in the USD 30 - USD 36 range across the year, with ARIN at the high end. Leasing stayed stable at roughly USD 0.40 per address per month. For the full breakdown of the drop, see our IPv4 Market Plunge analysis.
H1 2026: the floor, then the turn
The recovery came in three steps that together removed the doubt.
- January 2026: record volume. The month posted the highest transaction count in over a year and brought a new wave of buyers into the market. Volume, not price, was the first signal that the correction had exhausted itself.
- March 2026: prices tick up. A measurable price increase landed across block sizes - the first broad upward move since 2024. This is when sellers who had been waiting on the sidelines began to re-enter.
- April - June 2026: confirmation. The uptick held and extended through the second quarter. RIPE NCC, the highest-volume registry globally at 350 - 480 transfers per month, continued to lead, with ARIN second. Inter-RIR transfers (ARIN to RIPE) grew as EU demand pulled blocks westward.
By mid-2026 the floor was no longer a guess. It was visible in the data.
Where prices are now, by block size
| Block size | 2025 low (per IP) | Mid-2026 (per IP) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| /24 (256 addresses) | USD 30 - 36 | USD 30 - 36 | Held firm, never fell |
| /22 (1,024 addresses) | USD 18 - 25 | USD 22 - 30 | Recovering |
| /16+ (65,536+) | USD 10 - 13 | USD 15 - 22 | Climbing from lows |
The pattern is clear: the smaller the block, the less it moved. /24 blocks were the safe haven; large blocks took the hit and are now doing the recovering. IPv4.Global's mid-2026 projection points to large blocks recovering toward USD 15 - USD 22, medium blocks toward USD 18 - USD 30, and /22 - /24 holding at USD 30 - USD 36 through year-end. For the per-IP detail and the money-page pricing, see our IPv4 price per IP guide.
Who is buying now that hyperscalers pulled back
The buyer base changed shape in 2025. Amazon alone cut its IPv4 acquisition by roughly 40%. The gap was filled by a broader, less concentrated set of buyers: hosting providers expanding their address pools, cloud platforms adding capacity, telecom operators, and the AI infrastructure buildout that needs IPv4 for management interfaces, API endpoints, and service delivery. This broader base is, in a sense, healthier than the hyperscaler-driven peak - no single buyer can swing the market. Dual-stack realities keep demand structural: global IPv6 adoption sits near 40%, but dual-stack deployments keep IPv4 essential, not optional.
Is this the buying window?
For buyers who need addresses for real infrastructure, the case is straightforward. Large blocks are still well below their 2021 peak, the floor is confirmed, and the recovery is underway - so prices are more likely to rise than fall from here. The RIPE waiting list route (roughly 467 days, plus about EUR 4,600 in LIR fees before a /24 is allocated, plus a 24-month transfer lock) is slower and often more expensive than the secondary market for anyone with a live project. Leasing at about USD 0.40 per address per month remains the right tool for temporary capacity or cash preservation.
For sellers who sat out 2025 waiting for better prices, the window to re-open is also now: no RIPE transfer fees, recovering large-block pricing, and a confirmed floor under small blocks.
The bottom line
The 2025 correction is done. H1 2026 found the floor and started the climb. Large blocks are recovering from decade lows, /24 blocks held the line, and demand now comes from a broad base rather than a few hyperscalers. Whether you are buying for infrastructure or selling a block you held through the dip, the market has found its level. Need current pricing or a valuation? Email ipv4@dcxv.com or see https://dcxv.com/ipv4.
