🟡 The window of opportunity is closed
The 2026 New gTLD application window officially closed on 12 August at 23:59 UTC. ICANN says it received 🔗more than 1,600 primary applications. Two spectacular examples: 🔗Link Freedom Group reportedly submitted 300+ applications. 🔗Oinkadot submitted applications for 25 TLDs.
🟡 Blockchain naming systems news
The Solana Name Service announced a pause in .sol registrations on 17th. August for an eligibility snapshot, with registrations expected to resume around mid-September. 🔗https://www.kucoin.com/
🟡 A starlight’s time for .ai
.com is much larger in aggregate transaction value, at about $86 million vs $37.7 million in .ai transactions. But average .ai transaction value reportedly reached $535,000, slightly above .com ($529,000 in the same dataset). 🔗https://www.techradar.com/
🟡 An old dog – new tricks
Infoblox found that approximately 65,000 expired domains are re-registered every day. For gTLDs alone the figure is around 50,400/day, and dropcatch domains represent approximately 20% of new registrations. The really worrying part is what happens afterwards: 24% of malicious dropcatch domains become active on the same day; 76% are active within seven days; 94% within two weeks. 🔗 https://www.infoblox.com/
🟡 Full set of digital assets – DNS domains and blockchain names
ICANN’s contractual position concerning NFT-based domain names: blockchain/NFT domain registries cannot necessarily treat domains as permanently outside ICANN’s contractual authority if the names are integrated into the DNS. Opinion: millions of blockchain names are under threat – if the policy is approved, there is a sad chance that registries will not be able to obtain DNS legitimacy without adding an invalidation function (which is against the sale rules). 🔗https://www.techtimes.com/
🟡 Structural market’s changes
The number of domains in the .ru and .рф national zones is increasing at a slower rate than the number of their administrators during the first half of 2026. According to expert’s opinion, this reflects businesses preparing for new administrator identification requirements, while SME owners are registering new domain names more frequently for specific tasks. 🔗https://www.kommersant.ru/