This is the book we’ve just completed. I spent almost 13 years immersed in the process of helping new Top-Level Domains come into existence and grow, first, working for a growing domain registry between 2007 to 2012. This was the first time that ICANN opened the process to the public en masse. Almost 2,000 applications were received, and today’s result is that domain registrants now have around 600 new choices for endings to their domain names. I worked on about 60 successful applications.
This is the book we’ve just completed. I spent almost 13 years immersed in the process of helping new Top-Level Domains come into existence and grow, first, working for a growing domain registry between 2007 to 2012. This was the first time that ICANN opened the process to the public en masse. Almost 2,000 applications were received, and today’s result is that domain registrants now have around 600 new choices for endings to their domain names. I worked on about 60 successful applications.
In 2013, I began working for 101domain. They were the first to offer all Top-Level Domains, a comprehensive source for researching and buying almost any Top-Level domain in the world. It was our philosophy to work with all registries and be the one-stop shop for purchasing any top-level domain name. We released from one to ten new gTLDs each month from 2013 to 2017. Then I joined Afilias (now part of Identity Digital) and worked on ccTLDs.
Well, ICANN is doing it again! In 2026, they will allow applicants to go for their own top-level domain once again. I decided to share what I learned from the last round and, together with Andrey Insarov, our CEO at it.com Domains, I’ve written, How to Get Your Own Top Level Domain.
To get a feel for how important this event is, consider the following:
Top-Level Domains: Rare Digital Infrastructure With Lasting Value
In the digital economy, domain names are no longer just technical identifiers; they’re assets. And like all assets, some are worth far more than others.
A 2021 study by Boston Consulting Group valued the secondary domain market, where investors buy and sell premium domain names, at nearly $2.1 billion, rivaling the size of the primary retail domain market. That market is built entirely on second-level domains (SLDs) like business.com, travel.net, and finance.org. These are registered beneath a Top-Level Domain (TLD).
As of Q1 2025, Verisign reports that there are roughly 386 million registered second-level domains across all TLDs. But remarkably, there are only about 1,500 top-level domains in total. That makes TLDs approximately 250,000 times rarer than the domains built beneath them.
Rarity Meets Function
Top-level domains aren’t just rarer, they’re more foundational. Every single domain registration, renewal, and transaction under a TLD funnels value back to the operator of that TLD. Unlike SLDs, which offer one-time sales or limited leasing potential, TLDs offer ongoing cash flow, asset equity, and strategic control over naming rights across entire industries, languages, or interest groups.
A top-level domain like .realty or .art isn’t just a string. It’s a platform – a naming ecosystem that can host millions of second-level domains beneath it, each potentially worth hundreds, thousands, or sometimes millions of dollars individually. The operator controls pricing, policy, partnerships, and access.
Let the Numbers Tell the Story
If 386 million SLDs can create a $2.1 billion aftermarket, and if just a few SLDs like voice.com or insurance.com have sold for over $30 million each, how much more valuable is the underlying infrastructure that enables infinite versions of those names under your own TLD?
Operators of TLDs like .xyz, .io, and .ai have built multi-million-dollar enterprises by monetizing naming rights across niches. Verisign, which operates .com and .net, has become a $20+ billion company doing exactly this.
A Business, Not Just a Name
Each top-level domain becomes its own business unit. It has customers (registrants), revenue (renewals), partners (registrars), and policies (managed through ICANN). It may be traded, invested in, or acquired, just like any valuable company.
Top-level domains are not speculative novelties. They’re digital infrastructure. Scarce, foundational, and capable of generating long-term value in a way that few digital assets can.
In a world where SLDs command millions, top-level domains may be the most underappreciated business assets on the Internet.
Owning a top-level domain is like owning the entire mall, not just a store inside it.
I have helped people apply successfully in the past, and I want to help those who wish to do so this time. The book will contain my perspectives, the basics of how to apply, and my thoughts on what we might expect in the coming year. It also contains at least three interviews of people who applied in 2012.
Our Press Release: https://bit.ly/tldhowto
