A Statement on the 2026 New gTLD Round

We are writing with an update on Applicant Auction ahead of the 2026 New gTLD round. After extensive conversations with applicants over the past several months, we have decided not to move forward with the auction for this round.

We want to be clear about why. Our view of the model itself has not changed: we continue to believe a well-run Applicant Auction is a viable, low-risk way for parties to resolve contention quickly and on their own terms — the 2012 round demonstrated that. But standing up the auction structure properly requires a significant upfront investment, and before committing to it we needed a critical mass of participants prepared to move forward. Despite genuine interest from many of the parties we spoke with, that level of commitment has not materialized. Like our applicants, we have to make our own business decisions, and proceeding without that commitment would not be responsible.

We are grateful to everyone who engaged with us, asked hard questions, and gave us honest answers about their plans. That candor is exactly what allowed us to make this call at the right time, well before the application window closes on August 12, so that applicants can plan their contention strategy for Reveal Day with clarity.

Should circumstances change — in particular, if a significant number of committed participants emerge in the near term — we remain open to revisiting this decision, and we would welcome that conversation. In the meantime, we are happy to speak with any applicant about the options that remain for avoiding contention in this round.

Our work with Early Warning Report on contention avoidance services and application verification continues unchanged, and we will be active in facilitating that platform as the neutral party. If you want to avoid contention, we highly recommend using the Early Warning Report service. As of this statement, 44 potential contention sets have been identified via the String Interest Reports.

Thank you again for the time and consideration you have given us. It has been a pleasure, and we hope we have the chance to work together in the future.