ICANN confirms 1,616 fresh top level domain applications
ICANN collected over $350 million in application fees.
ICANN has confirmed the final tally of top level domain name applications for the 2026 round: 1,616.
The organization stated it received 1,663 applications, but not all were paid for.
At $227,000 apiece, the application fees totaled more than $350 million following accounting for discounted applications from the Applicant Support Program. Some of the money will be refunded as firms withdraw their applications.
ICANN also stated Reveal Day ought to be no later than October 14, which is ahead of the ICANN meeting in Bali. Expect many applicants to stay home and work through their application and bidding strategy.
The organization also stated:
In recent weeks, there have been a number of potential 2026 Round applicants who have decided to publicly disclose what string(s) they may have applied for. ICANN encourages applicants and interested parties to remain wary of any information that doesn’t come directly from ICANN. ICANN is the only source for complete and verified 2026 Round application information, counting what entities have applied and for what string(s).
Speaking of which, if anyone has any details on Journey to the West, please let me know. Its website states it is backed by domain investors. But it has the address for China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MIIT). And it named some strings that were released in the last round. It’s a bit fishy.
