You find a domain for a new site, it's available, and you start checkout. With some crypto payment flows, sending the payment and completing the domain registration can be separate steps. Most of the time that gap probably doesn't matter. But if the name is unusually good or tied to a launch, another registration during that window would hurt. For a domain you really want, does payment-to-registration speed matter to you?
Speed matters a lot to me for a name I truly care about -- nicenic's scenario is real with some crypto payment flows where sending payment and completing registration are separate steps, and that window is exactly when a good name can disappear. I hold domains on newer TLD extensions, and for those I've wanted the registration locked the moment payment clears, not a few minutes later. My rule: for an ordinary domain the gap probably doesn't matter, like nicenic said, but for a launch-critical name I won't use a checkout flow that leaves registration pending -- I'd switch to a payment method that registers immediately. A payment-pending window is fine for a test domain; for a perfect one it's a gamble I'd rather not take.
What sort of gaps are people experiencing? It should be instant. If crypto is the reason for the delay then use real money.
Fair point. I meant the gap where payment has been sent but the registration is still pending. For a name I really wanted, I wouldn’t insist on crypto either—securing the name would matter more than how I paid.