The ApeCoin community has unanimously agreed to register “.APE” as a new top-level domain (TLD) with ICANN, the world’s authority on IP addresses and domain names. This decision aligns with ICANN’s plan to introduce new generic top-level domains by 2026. The ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has proposed collaborating with D3, a specialist in Web3 domains, to establish the .APE TLD as a real-world asset.
With a majority of 91.68%, the ApeCoin community voted in favor of the proposal, while 8.32% voted against it. Fred Hsu, the co-founder and CEO of D3, stated that the DNS domains offered by D3 are interoperable and can be used for Web1, Web2, and Web3 purposes. According to the proposal, D3 will lead the effort to prepare and submit the application, which is expected to be completed within a year.
In addition to the TLD, D3 plans to provide Ape-linked name tokens as immediate Web3 identifiers for users. Hsu’s vision for D3 involves bridging over 5 billion Web2 users to Web3 through domains. He stated, “We aim to revolutionize both domain ownership and usage, as not much has changed in the past 20 years with traditional domains.”
Once launched, the .APE domains have the potential to generate annual revenues in the millions of dollars. Hsu explained that domains are valuable digital assets and a recurring revenue source. As part of the agreement, the gross revenues from Ape name tokens and .APE TLDs will be split equally between ApeCoin DAO and D3.
The proposal clarified that owning a TLD is not possible, as ICANN contractually grants exclusive rights to operate and monetize each TLD, with automatic renewal every 10 years. The total costs for the initiative amount to three million ApeCoin (APE). D3 will bear the ongoing technical and operational expenses related to managing the .APE namespace, with contributions from ApeCoin DAO for co-marketing efforts.
In related news, GoDaddy and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) formed a partnership in February 2024, allowing users to link Web3-based .eth domains with domain name system top-level domains at no cost. This collaboration eliminates the barrier of high gas fees and encourages users to bring their domain names to ENS. Paul Nicks, the president of domains at GoDaddy, described it as the fusion of domain names and blockchain technologies, benefiting both the Web2 and Web3 ecosystems.
Furthermore, in July 2023, GoDaddy’s Web3 competitor, Unstoppable Domains, enabled users to purchase .eth names with additional payment methods and functionality to streamline the management of ENS domains.