Because if you don't launch today, people won't see that you were eager to spend as much money on the domain as possible (i.e. for Phase 1)...

If you run WHOIS on yc.dev you'll see that it was created prior to the beginning of the early access period yesterday. Also see: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announ...

They already announced .dev in November, they've had plenty of time to design the website.

People spent more money on them and are eager to show them off.

For a very short period they will be a status symbol for internet companies.

Status symbol? Those who know won't likely be impressed. Those who don't can't be impressed.

That might be what the buyer is hoping for, but the reality is they're probably mistaken.

"Impressed" might not be the right word. Jealous, maybe.

Would I like a .dev domain? Yep. Can I afford it? Nope. Therefore ... status symbol.

You can definitely afford one in a few days.

The shelf life on most status symbols is limited.

There's no expiration date on having a good domain name, though. If anything their value increases over time.

Because the domain registration just opened up?

And I don't think one need the domain name to start working on a website?