The ICANN New gTLD Program: 2026 Round is underway, and the next generation of Internet extensions is starting to become visible.
The application window closed on 12 August 2026. ICANN received more than 1,600 primary applications, and more than 1,100 of them also included a replacement string. The definitive list will only become public on Reveal Day.
Applicants, however, are free to reveal their plans earlier — and many already have.
Public trackers now contain hundreds of announced strings, giving us a surprisingly detailed preview of what may eventually appear to the right of the dot. It is still only a preview: primary and replacement strings are not always distinguished, and plenty of applicants remain silent.
Link Freedom Group
Probably the most spectacular entrant so far. Link Freedom Group (LFG) is built around Nova Registry, the operator of .link, and is led by domain-industry veteran Vaughn Liley. The company disclosed 316 proposed strings and says it has invested tens of millions of dollars in the round. Its portfolio ranges from commercial terms to AI, crypto and wonderfully Internet-ish ideas.
.acc .act .add .agentic .agi .air .ais .algo .all .alpha .anon .any .api .artist .asap .asi .atom .auth .bad .bag .base .big .bill .bit .block .bnb .boom .borg .brain .btc .cap .cart .cast .ccc .cell .chain .change .coaching .coin .collective .commerce .commercial .con .connect .core .craft .create .creative .cyber .dao .dapp .ddd .demo .dian .dna .donate .dream .drone .drop .earn .easy .electric .end .enter .epic .era .etc .ether .eye .fab .factory .fart .feed .fight .file .find .firm .flow .form .freedom .ftw .future .gate .gear .gen .genius .get .gmi .goat .god .good .gpt .gram .great .grow .gym .hack .haha .happy .hard .heal .hello .hey .hire .hit .hodl .hop .hope .hub .human .hunt .hype .iam .icon .idea .iii .index .industry .inf .intelligence .inter .internet .invest .ion .itis .itiswhatitis .jet .jjj .join .kek .key .king .kit .know .labs .learn .lfg .light .line .links .list .llm .logistics .long .look .loop .luck .machine .made .magic .main .make .mall .mark .mars .mart .mate .math .max .mech .mega .merch .met .mind .mine .mmm .mode .model .moon .more .mvp .nano .near .need .neo .nft .nice .nil .not .npc .nsfw .nutrition .official .oid .okay .omg .only .orb .order .organization .out .outlet .pal .park .pass .pax .phi .planet .platform .pod .podcast .point .pop .port .portal .pos .pot .pow .power .ppp .print .private .product .project .protocol .pump .pure .push .qqq .quant .quantum .quick .qwe .raw .real .research .resort .retail .rev .ride .robot .robotics .rrr .sat .scale .scan .sci .sea .see .sell .send .set .share .ship .sign .sim .slop .soft .soul .source .sov .sss .stack .start .state .stay .stem .stock .stuff .sub .super .sure .swap .sys .tada .tag .tap .tea .text .the .therapy .thing .think .this .time .tldr .token .toy .train .tree .true .truth .ttt .uni .url .use .uuu .verse .vibe .view .viral .virtual .visit .vvv .want .water .way .wear .well .wellness .what .wild .will .wise .wiz .xbt .yea .yes .yyy .zap .zec .zen .zoom .zzz
Journey to the West Corporation
A very different strategy comes from Journey To The West, a Chinese-founded registry project aimed at connecting Chinese culture, industry and commerce with the global namespace. It has published 323 primary and replacement strings combined, including English terms and a substantial collection of Chinese-script IDNs.
.abundance .acrobat .additive .aftermarket .algorithm .anode .artofwar .automation .autopart .baijiu .bamboo .baozi .battery .bearing .blessing .bonded .cable .calligraphy .canton .carp .casting .cathode .ceramic .charger .chinachic .chip .chopstick .chrysanthemum .cinnabar .cloisonne .cloudchina .cloudladder .cnc .cobot .compass .compute .confucius .congee .container .crane .crossborder .customs .daigou .dan .datacenter .designedinchina .digitaltwin .display .domestic .doubleeight .dragon .dragongate .dropship .dumpling .dynasty .ebike .edge .eight .emperor .erhu .exam .expo .export .extrusion .fabric .fair .fastener .fengshui .firstmove .footwear .forbidden .fortune .foundry .freight .fulfillment .garment .ginseng .goldendragon .gourd .greatwall .grid .groupbuy .gunpowder .guochao .guofeng .guzheng .hanfu .hardware .harmony .harvest .heritage .himalaya .hongbao .hotpot .huangjiu .huangshan .hydro .hydrogen .immortal .imperial .import .inkstone .intangible .inverter .jade .jadeemperor .journey .kite .knot .koi .kungfu .kunlun .lacquer .lantern .laozi .laozihao .leather .led .lidar .lithium .livestream .longevity .longjing .lotus .lucky .lunar .madein .mahjong .mandarin .metaverse .miniapp .module .mold .monkey .monkeyking .monsoon .mooncake .moq .motor .mountain .nationalbrand .nev .newinfra .newyear .noodle .odm .oem .oolong .opera .orchid .pack .paddy .pagoda .panda .panel .paper .pcb .peach .pearl .peony .phoenix .pilgrim .pipa .plum .porcelain .printing .prosperity .puer .qigong .qilin .qrcode .rabbit .rice .river .rooster .ruyi .sample .sanda .scholar .scooter .scroll .seal .semiconductor .sensor .shaolin .shipping .shortvideo .smartcity .socialcommerce .sourcing .springfestival .stone .stratagem .sunzi .superapp .superqr .supplier .taichi .tao .tassel .teahouse .teapot .tengen .terrace .terracotta .textile .tianshan .tianyuan .tiger .tire .tofu .tongguan .tooling .transformer .turtle .unity .valve .vendor .vermilion .virtue .wafer .wafersolar .warehouse .weiqi .wholesale .willow .wind .wisdom .wok .wudang .wushu .xiangqi .xiyou .yangtze .yellowriver .yiwu .zodiac .体育 .供应链 .健身 .储能 .充电 .光伏 .养生 .农业 .出口 .动漫 .半导体 .咖啡 .团购 .国潮 .培训 .外卖 .外贸 .大模型 .婚礼 .宠物 .家居 .家电 .工厂 .建材 .微店 .快递 .批发 .摄影 .数据 .新能源 .旅游 .无人机 .智能 .服装 .机器人 .机票 .母婴 .民宿 .求职 .汉服 .汽车 .物流 .玩具 .生鲜 .电商 .电影 .电池 .电竞 .电脑 .电车 .留学 .白酒 .直播 .眼镜 .短视频 .算力 .箱包 .美容 .美食 .老字号 .考研 .芯片 .茶叶 .装修 .酒店 .非遗 .音乐
Starlight Registry / Namecheap
Namecheap is hardly a newcomer to domains: it is one of the world’s best-known retail registrars. Its new registry initiative has publicly disclosed 40 applications, with strings strongly oriented toward technology, AI and digital infrastructure, including names such as .brain, .logic, .matrix, .mesh and .sys.
.aid .arc .clone .den .did .droid .flux .folio .forge .lab .lens .lift .logic .maker .mesh .mod .ops .path .sense .shift .sync .synth .trek .wave
Oinkadot
Oinkadot is a joint venture between Porkbun CEO Ray King and Dynadot CEO Todd Han. Instead of competing against each other for many of the same TLDs, the two registrar founders joined forces and submitted 25 primary applications together. Sometimes avoiding an expensive auction is also a business model.
.anime .bug .cancel .dine .ghost .glitch .manga .puff .queen .spice .weed .wire
Internet.Best
internet.Best describes itself as a registry, website-builder and AI platform developing a new naming layer for the Internet. Its 10 disclosed strings concentrate particularly on AI, creators and online identity, including concepts such as .chatbot, .influencer, .prompt, .skills and .socialmedia.
.answer .ask .chatbot .content .creator .influencer .prompt .skills .socialmedia .streamer
Phoenix Domain Partners
Phoenix Domain Partners has disclosed 13 applications. Its selection leans toward broadly marketable generic terms rather than a single branded ecosystem, essentially a portfolio approach to operating new namespaces.
.amor .bbq .beach .chic .comics .jackpot .pool .quince .quote
Name Space LLC
Name Space LLC, backed by Latin American investors and led by Gerardo Aristizabal, has submitted 10 primary applications. Aristizabal is not completely new to the game: he also participated in the 2012 new-gTLD round.
.aura .fest .ify .sound .yam
Human-Centered Computing Foundation
a nonprofit focused on human-centered digital identity and computing. It has applied for .self.
.self
Sui Naming Limited (1 strings)
Sui Naming Limited / SuiNS has submitted an application for .sui, bringing another blockchain naming ecosystem into the ICANN DNS world. The project has been working with domain infrastructure companies including Doma and D3.
.sui
No applicant attributed yet (6 strings)
.abacus .bewell .bitcoin .intel .joinus .whatsnew
This is my running list of publicly announced ICANN 2026 new gTLD strings.
It is not yet the official ICANN list. Some of the strings are primary applications, while others may be replacement strings disclosed by applicants before Reveal Day.
The list will be updated as new TLDs are announced and eventually compared with ICANN’s official Reveal Day data.
For now, it is simply an early look at the names competing to become part of the next generation of the Internet.
“The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.”
— William Gibson
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