A block of numbers given away for free in the 1980s can now be worth more than a commercial skyscraper. IP addresses — the numerical foundation of every internet connection — have become one of the most fiercely contested resources in the digital economy.

In this episode, we trace how a 32-bit addressing scheme designed for an experimental research network became a scarce commodity. We examine the rigid classful system that wasted millions of addresses, the emergency inventions of CIDR and NAT that kept the internet alive, the rise of Regional Internet Registries, and the secondary market where legacy holders sell addresses for tens of dollars each. We also explore the difference between Provider-Aggregatable and Provider-Independent space, the power of BGP multi-homing, and why the transition to IPv6 remains unfinished decades after it was ...