What is the first thing you do when you find out that something that you need very much is going to go out of availability very soon? Start collecting as much of it as you can, right? The same “technique” could not be applied to everything. Take the IPv4 addresses for example. It was common knowledge that IPv4 number blocks are limited and they are eventually going to run out. But only in the last few years has it been considered a problem to be worried about.

When things are scarce or limited, you would notice that they suddenly become extremely sought after. Such is the case with IPv4 number blocks. Though the predictions of IPv4 addresses running out have been around since the 80s, it is only now that people have started taking it seriously. The introduction of IPv6 has given people some hope for the future.