Industry News
New Domain Extensions Are Coming: ICANN's 2026 gTLD Round Explained
2026-08-13 · OSIR Team
Summary: On August 12, 2026, ICANN closed the application window of its first new gTLD round since 2012. Hundreds of proposed extensions - from .llm and .agi to .btc and .mall - are now moving into evaluation. The full list of applied-for strings becomes public on Reveal Day, expected in late October 2026, and the first uncontested new extensions are expected to go live in late 2027 or early 2028. Here is the complete timeline, what is known so far, and what (if anything) you should do about it today.
What just happened
For the first time in 14 years, ICANN - the organization that coordinates the internet's naming system - has opened the door to creating new top-level domains (TLDs). A top-level domain is the part after the last dot in a web address: .com, .org, .ai. The application window for this round (ICANN calls it the Next Round) opened on April 30, 2026 and closed on August 12, 2026.
Applying is not a casual step. Each application carries an ICANN fee of $227,000 per string, before any of the technical, legal, and operational costs of actually running a registry. Whoever applied has made a serious, multi-year bet on their strings.
The last time this happened, in 2012, ICANN received 1,930 applications and roughly 1,200 new extensions eventually went live - .app, .dev, .xyz, .online, and most of the other "new" endings you see today all date to that round. If you want the background on how registries, registrars, and ICANN fit together, our domain registries explained guide covers the whole chain.
The biggest applicant so far: 300+ strings from Link Freedom Group
Applicants are not required to disclose anything until ICANN publishes the official list, but one company went public immediately. Link Freedom Group (LFG), a new internet infrastructure company built on the foundation of Nova Registry (the operator of .link), announced a portfolio of more than 300 proposed TLDs - which would be the largest single submission on record, ahead of Donuts' 300+ applications in 2012 and roughly triple Google's 101. The company also published its full list at LFG.link rather than waiting for Reveal Day.
A sampling of LFG's announced strings, by category:
| Category | Example strings |
|---|---|
| AI and tech | .llm, .agi, .quantum, .robot |
| Commerce | .cart, .brand, .merch, .mall |
| Crypto and Web3 | .block, .btc, .coin, .nft |
| Culture | .lfg, .kek, .mvp, .truth, .omg, .boom |
| Lifestyle | .nil, .god, .pop, .zen |
| Web infrastructure | .portal, .core, .bit, .internet, .url |
One important caveat: an application is not a launch. Every string on that list still has to survive evaluation, possible objections, and - crucially - contention.
Contention: when two applicants want the same string
If more than one party applies for the same string, ICANN places them in a contention set, which must be resolved before the string can exist - by agreement between the applicants or, historically, by auction. This is not a theoretical risk. In the 2012 round, the contention set for .web was resolved by an auction that closed at $135 million, and the string spent years in disputes afterward.
This round will have contention too. For example, Unstoppable Domains and the 0G Foundation have publicly announced their own plans to pursue .agi - the same string on LFG's list. Expect the popular AI and crypto strings (.llm, .btc, .coin, .nft) to be among the most contested. Until contention sets are published and resolved, nobody can say who will operate any given string, what it will cost, or whether it will launch at all.
The timeline from here
| Milestone | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Application window | - | Closed. Applications submitted and fees paid. |
| Administrative checks | August - October 2026 | ICANN verifies completeness and flags identical strings. |
| Reveal Day | Expected late October 2026 | ICANN publishes every applied-for string and applicant. |
| String confirmation | November 2026 | Applicants in contention may switch to a listed fallback string; final string list and contention sets published. |
| Evaluation and objections | Through ~late 2027 | Technical/financial evaluation, objection windows, contention resolution. |
| First launches | Late 2027 - early 2028 | First uncontested strings sign registry agreements and go live, each with its own sunrise and general-availability dates. |
Can you register or reserve a name in a new extension today?
No. There is nothing to register yet: the strings do not exist in the DNS, and most will not before late 2027 at the earliest.
Be careful with anyone who offers to "secure" or "guarantee" a name in an unlaunched extension for a fee. Legitimate pre-registration is a free, non-binding expression of interest - it does not reserve anything, because launch-phase rules are set by each registry only after its string is approved. Paid guarantees for unlaunched TLDs are a recurring scam pattern around every gTLD round.
What launch will actually look like, based on how every modern gTLD rolls out:
- Sunrise - a period reserved for trademark holders with marks recorded in ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). If you hold registered trademarks, this is the one thing genuinely worth preparing for in advance.
- Early access / landrush - some registries offer early registration at premium pricing that steps down day by day.
- General availability - open registration, first come, first served.
Pricing for each new extension will be set by whichever registry wins the string, so nobody - including us - can quote prices today. When new extensions go live, they will appear in our extension catalog and on our pricing page like the 450+ TLDs we carry now, with the registration price shown alongside the applicable ICANN fee ($0.20/yr on gTLDs) and payment processing (3% or $0.30 minimum).
Why this round matters more for AI than the last one
The 2012 round predates modern AI entirely. This one does not: strings like .llm, .agi, .robot, and .quantum are aimed squarely at the AI ecosystem, and this time the buyers will not only be humans. AI agents already register and manage domains programmatically - our own registrar exposes its full catalog through MCP and A2A integrations that let an AI assistant search, compare, and register domains directly. When an agent can act on "get me a .llm domain for this project" the moment general availability opens, launch-day dynamics will look very different from 2012.
Until those strings exist, .ai remains the working AI extension - open to everyone, live today, and covered step by step in our guide to registering a .ai domain. A live .llm or .agi in 2028 would compete with it, not replace it.
We will update this post as the round progresses - Reveal Day's full string list and the contention sets are the next milestones that matter.
New gTLD round FAQ
When can I register a domain in one of the new extensions?
Realistically not before late 2027, and for most strings 2028 or later. Each approved string launches on its own schedule with a sunrise phase for trademark holders first, then general availability.
What is Reveal Day?
The day ICANN publishes the complete list of applied-for strings and their applicants - expected in late October 2026. Until then, only voluntary disclosures like Link Freedom Group's are public.
Will .llm, .agi, or .btc definitely exist?
No. Every applied-for string must pass evaluation, survive objections, and clear contention if multiple parties applied for it. Some strings from the 2012 round took years to resolve, and a few never launched.
Can I pay to reserve a name before launch?
No legitimate party can guarantee you a name in an unlaunched extension. Free, non-binding pre-registration interest lists are normal; paid "guarantees" are not. The only genuine head start is a trademark recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse, which qualifies you for sunrise registration.
How much will domains in the new extensions cost?
Unknown until each registry sets its pricing after approval. Expect the same wide range as the 450+ existing extensions, plus premium tiers for short or high-value names. Live prices will appear on our pricing page as extensions launch, with all fees disclosed.
How many new extensions were applied for?
ICANN has not yet published totals. The only confirmed large portfolio is Link Freedom Group's 300+ strings. The 2012 round drew 1,930 applications, which produced roughly 1,200 live TLDs.
Want to go deeper on how domains work end to end? Start with the Domain Mastery series in our Help Center.
Image generated with AI (Higgsfield).