Posts tagged "domain-economics"

7 posts found.

April 02, 2026 27 min read

.io: 13.2 Million Domains, Zero Residents, and the Tech Industry's Most Precarious TLD

We analyzed 13.2 million .io records across 1.59 million unique domains and found a TLD split in two: 6,144 platform domains host 50% of all records, while 335,802 exist as single entries. The tech industry built its infrastructure on a country code belonging to a territory with no civilian population — and the UK's treaty to hand sovereignty to Mauritius puts that infrastructure on a clock no one in Silicon Valley is watching.

March 25, 2026 27 min read

.ai Domains and the AI Gold Rush: How a Caribbean Island Became Silicon Valley's Hottest Namespace

We analyzed 3.45 million .ai domain names and subdomains — including 995,445 unique root registrations — in the DomainsProject dataset and cross-referenced registry data, aftermarket sales, and government revenue figures to map the .ai explosion — from 48,000 registrations in 2018 to over one million today, and what it means for the 14,000 residents of Anguilla now collecting an estimated $93 million per year from two letters.

March 25, 2026 13 min read

The Rise of .xyz: From $25,000 Gamble to 45 Million Domains and the New gTLD's Only Success Story

We parsed 45 million entries in the .xyz namespace from our dataset and found 11 million direct registrations generating 34 million subdomains — a 3:1 ratio that reveals a TLD being used as live infrastructure, not parked inventory. .xyz is the largest new gTLD on Earth and the 4th largest gTLD overall, larger than China's .cn, the UK's .uk, and Brazil's .br. It is the only new gTLD that broke into the top 5, and the data shows why: a combination of $1 promotional pricing, crypto/Web3 adoption, developer infrastructure, and one very famous corporate endorsement.

March 24, 2026 20 min read

China's .CN: 1 Billion Internet Users, 21 Million Domains, and the Platform Economy That Ate the Web

We parsed 22.4 million entries in the .cn namespace from our dataset and found 5.65 million unique registrable domains — roughly 27% of CNNIC's 21 million registry count. China has 1.09 billion internet users but only one .cn domain for every 52 of them. The data reveals why: a regulatory gauntlet of real-name verification and ICP licensing, a super-app economy where 4.3 million WeChat Mini Programs replace websites, and the aftershocks of a 2009 crackdown that crashed registrations 75% overnight.

March 23, 2026 18 min read

.NET: 209 Million Domains, the Internet's Oldest Registration, and the TLD That Became What It Was Named For

We parsed 209 million entries under .NET from our dataset and found that 68.8% are ISP reverse-DNS infrastructure from Comcast, Virgin Media, SFR, HiNet, and providers across 11 countries. Only 9.7% are direct registrations. The TLD created in 1985 for 'network' organizations literally became the Internet's network infrastructure — but not through website registrations. Through the invisible addressing layer that routes every packet you send. Inside the oldest domain on Earth, Verisign's dual monopoly, and the TLD that fulfilled its destiny by accident.

March 23, 2026 21 min read

Brazil's .com.br: 33.7 Million Domains, 147 Categories, and the Internet's Most Opinionated Namespace

We parsed 33.7 million domains in the .br namespace from our dataset: .com.br holds 97.3%, followed by .net.br at 1.3% and .org.br at 0.8%. Brazil built the most elaborate domain categorization system on Earth — 147 second-level categories, mandatory government ID for every registration, credential-verified professional domains for licensed dentists, lawyers, and engineers — and deliberately refused to simplify it. How a multi-stakeholder committee, a physics lab in Illinois, and a 37-year leader built the only major namespace still growing.

March 22, 2026 21 min read

Tiny Islands, Massive TLDs: How Tokelau, Tuvalu, and Niue Built Some of the Internet's Largest Domain Extensions

We analyzed 2.3 billion domains across 1,519 TLDs and found that ten island territories with a combined population under 500,000 host 37.3 million domains — more than .org. Tokelau's .tk peaked at 31 million domains for 1,500 residents. Tuvalu's .tv funded the nation's UN membership. Niue lost control of .nu entirely. Three islands, three models, three very different outcomes.