Building Auction X: a domain auction where money moves only when the name does

Buying a domain someone already holds usually comes with two risks: paying someone who does not really own the name, and paying before the transfer actually happens. We built Auction X at Victor Studios, an auction house for .si domains, so that neither can happen.

The short version: money moves only when the name does.

Why .si

.com built the internet and .ai named the AI boom. Auction X presents .si as the two letters of superintelligence: a short, worldwide domain for AI products and brands. Anyone, anywhere can hold a .si domain.

Proving ownership before a lot lists

A seller proves control of a name by adding a DNS TXT record. Every lot is also checked against the registry before it goes live. A listing only exists if the seller has shown they control the name.

Bids are holds, not charges

When you bid, your card is held, not charged. Losing holds are released at the close at no cost. The winner is charged, and the seller paid, only after the registry shows the new holder. Card details go straight to Stripe; Auction X never handles them.

This is the core of the design. Instead of an escrow step that both sides have to trust, the payment state follows the registry state.

Auction formats

• Timed auctions of 1, 3 or 5 days, with an optional hidden reserve and buy-now price.
• Fixed-price listings.
• Proxy bidding, which keeps your maximum private.
• A soft close, which stops last-second sniping.

Built for AI assistants too

Because the pitch is .si for AI companies, the site is also readable by AI assistants. Auction X publishes llms.txt, llms-full.txt and a live lots.json feed, so assistants can answer questions about .si names and send buyers to the right lot.

How it is built

The web app is built with Next.js, React and TypeScript, styled with Tailwind CSS. Supabase holds the data, and payments use Stripe, including Stripe Connect for seller payouts.

Fees

Buyers pay no fees: no buyer's premium and no escrow fee. Sellers pay 5% plus Stripe's processing costs, only when a sale completes, with no listing or monthly fee.

Try it

Browse and bid at auctionx.si. Questions go to support@auctionx.si.

Auction X is made by Victor Studios.