Link Freedom Group reveals more than 300 proposed top-level domain strings
Link Freedom Group (LFG), a new entity in the top-level domain (TLD) registry space, has published a list of more than 300 strings it has submitted under ICANN’s new TLD program. Although LFG is a recently formed brand, the organization already owns and operates Nova Registry, the operator behind the .link TLD.
The company has not confirmed the exact total of applications it filed. Public comments made on a domain industry podcast last March indicated the organization planned to submit roughly 200 applications, and the newly released list now totals more than 300 disclosed strings. At the program’s application fee of $227,000 per string, the financial commitment for this round of applications represents tens of millions of dollars before any contention auctions are considered.
Explaining the rationale behind the new corporate identity, LFG CEO Vaughn Liley emphasized the role of domain namespaces in digital identity. He described how personal and professional online identities—email addresses, social profiles, and personal websites—are often controlled by third parties, and said the company aims to modernize how internet identity works so that the namespace better reflects how people use the web today.
The organization’s chosen acronym, LFG, has cultural resonance in online communities, and the company has included .lfg among its applications.
Rather than embedding external links, the company’s website and posted disclosure were used to assemble the publicly revealed list of proposed TLD strings. The applications fall into several broad categories that reflect current industry and cultural trends:
- AI & Technology: examples include .api, .agi, .gpt, .labs — names that target developers, AI projects and tooling.
- Commerce: examples include .order, .cart, .pos, .retail — strings aimed at online retail and point-of-sale systems.
- Culture & Community: examples include .lfg, .goat, .tldr, .vibe — social and lifestyle-oriented names.
- Crypto & Web3: examples include .hodl, .invest, .nft, .token — domains geared to blockchain, digital assets and decentralized applications.
- Lifestyle & Personal Brands: examples include .nil, .god, .pop, .zen — short, memorable strings intended for personal or brand expression.
- Web Infrastructure & Utility: examples include .bit, .platform, .gear, .core — names suited for technical infrastructure and platform services.
In addition to category-specific terms, LFG’s disclosed list contains a set of repeating-letter strings such as .iii, .rrr and .ttt. These patterns tend to be attractive for branding and short-form domain use.
Notably, the list also highlights some strategic omissions. LFG does not appear to have applied for some highly contested strings like .agent and .crypto, possibly because the organization judged the likely auction and competition costs to be prohibitive. Instead, LFG has pursued adjacent or alternative names such as .agentic, .coin and .btc, which could capture similar market demand without entering the most saturated contention sets.
Observers in the domain space are likely to focus on a subset of LFG’s strings that could generate intense competition. Names tied to core internet and fintech services—.api, .hub, .labs, .btc, .block, .chain, .coin, .token and .gpt—stand out as strings that other applicants may also value highly, which can lead to high-stakes contention auctions and strategic partnerships or disputes.
The scope of LFG’s disclosed portfolio reflects a broader pattern in the current TLD application cycle: registries are pursuing a mix of narrowly targeted vertical strings and broadly appealing, short, brandable names. This dual approach helps capture both specific industry communities and wider consumer markets, but it also increases the likelihood of overlapping interest among applicants.
Vaughn Liley is scheduled to appear as a guest on an upcoming industry podcast to discuss the company’s strategic approach and its vision for internet identity. For registry operators, registrars, investors and brand holders watching the new gTLD process, LFG’s disclosure offers a clear signal about which sectors they perceive as commercially and culturally significant in the next wave of domain expansion.
If you are a registry applicant and wish to discuss or disclose your applications publicly, consider contacting the domain industry journalists and outlets that cover new TLD developments.