The ApeCoin community has made a significant decision by unanimously approving a proposal to register “.APE” as a new top-level domain (TLD) with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN is recognized as the world’s authority on IP addresses and domain names, making this move a significant step for the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
This decision aligns with ICANN’s plan to implement new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) by the second quarter of 2026. The ApeCoin DAO will be working with Web3 domains specialist D3 to create the .APE top-level domain as a real-world asset (RWA). The proposal received overwhelming support from the ApeCoin community, with 91.68% voting in favor and 8.32% against it.
According to the proposal, D3 will lead the effort to prepare and submit the application for the .APE TLD, a process expected to take approximately one year. Additionally, D3 plans to offer APE-linked name tokens as an immediate Web3 identifier for users.
The ApeCoin DAO believes that the launch of .APE domains has the potential to generate multi-million dollars in annual revenue. As part of the deal, the gross revenues generated from the APE name tokens and the .APE TLDs will be split 50-50 between ApeCoin DAO and D3.
It is important to note that “owning” a TLD is not possible, as ICANN contractually grants the rights to exclusively operate and monetize each TLD, with automatic renewal every 10 years. The initial budget for the .APE acquisition process is set at three million ApeCoin (APE), with ongoing technical and operational costs to be incurred by D3 for managing the .APE namespace.
This move by the ApeCoin community comes in the wake of a partnership between domain registrars GoDaddy and Ethereum Name Service (ENS) in February 2024. This partnership allows users to link Web3-based .eth domains to DNS top-level domains at no cost, eliminating the barrier of high gas fees that previously deterred users from bringing domain names over to ENS.
Overall, the decision to launch .APE domains represents a significant development in the intersection of domain names and blockchain technologies. It is a testament to the growing importance of Web3 ecosystems and the potential for innovative collaborations within the crypto space.