The battle for new gTLDs begins: potential competition from .chain

With the arrival of the new round of gTLD applications, the first fierce battle seems to have emerged in the industry. The highly anticipated .chain domain name has become the target of multiple applicants, including Freename.io, a blockchain-based alternative naming system, and its competitor 3DNS. Freename has made it clear that it plans to apply for multiple gTLDs such as .chain, .token, and .metaverse, and will participate in the competition on behalf of third-party clients.

Freename and 3DNS also have different partnerships. The former has established a joint venture WebUnited with ShortDot, and the latter has cooperated with Intercap. Freename is already selling blockchain domain names with .chain as a suffix, while 3DNS sells third-level DNS domain names under its .chain.box, hoping to upgrade them to second-level domain names in the future.

It is worth noting that .chain, as an abbreviation for "blockchain", has attracted the attention of the crypto and Web3 communities, so it would be surprising if only these two companies applied for .chain. ICANN is developing contention resolution rules, and more news may be available in the coming months. Although ICANN intends to ban private auctions in the next round, the introduction of new backup string options has also aroused discussion and attention in the industry.

All this shows that with the continuous development of the gTLD market, a new round of competition has begun. How it will evolve in the future is worth our continued attention.