Cardano Foundation Seeks Control Of Top-Level Domains: Here’s Why
The Cardano Foundation is making ready to use for 2 generic top-level domains—“.ada” and “.cardano”—within the subsequent ICANN utility spherical, positioning the community’s model and id nearer to the core addressing layer of the net.
In a discussion board announcement dated 21 October 2025, the Foundation mentioned it intends to submit purposes in Q1 2026 and can finance the hassle solely from its personal assets, not the Cardano Treasury. “The Cardano Foundation plans to use for the registration of the .ada and .cardano gTLDs,” the publish states, including that the initiative has been scoped since 2023, when ICANN signaled a brand new utility window for gTLDs.
Cardano Aims For Its Own Corner Of The Web
The transfer would deliver Cardano into a comparatively small cohort of blockchain ecosystems that management their very own top-level namespace reasonably than relying solely on third-party registries or Web3-native naming methods. The Foundation frames the purposes as each defensive and strategic: securing Cardano-specific string(s) ought to scale back the danger of brand name misuse whereas creating an on-ramp for id and interoperability options that bridge Web2 and Web3.
If accepted, these domains would operate like some other gTLD, that means ecosystem contributors may register second-level names similar to “vespr.ada” or “nmkr.cardano,” with the registry operated underneath insurance policies the Foundation says it would publish and report on commonly.
Beyond model management, the Foundation emphasizes potential product-level integrations. It explicitly highlights “simplified pockets addresses,” integration with decentralized id options “like Veridian,” and even “area tokenisation” as areas it desires to discover.
The publish additionally notes lively conversations “with Ada Handles and Handshake to discover use circumstances that bridge conventional DNS and Cardano.” These examples recommend the registry may function an anchor for human-readable identifiers that resolve to blockchain credentials, cost endpoints, or verifiable credentials, all throughout the governance and safety constraints of ICANN’s DNS.
The Foundation says a multi-disciplinary workforce has been shaping the plan, together with consultations with neighborhood consultants and vendor evaluations for each the applying course of and future registry operations. Operationally, it proposes a Community Advisory Group to information coverage and growth, and commits to “commonly publishing figures on the gTLDs’ operation,” in keeping with its present transparency stories.
It additionally floats the likelihood that web returns, if any, could possibly be funneled again into broader ecosystem work. While the publish underscores that “there is no such thing as a assure of success,” it argues the danger is justified by the strategic upside and the once-in-a-decade nature of ICANN’s utility home windows.
Financially, the Foundation offers an unusually detailed price define. It estimates one-time utility prices of roughly $700,000 for the 2 strings, comprising roughly $500,000 in ICANN charges and $200,000 for utility help. It then initiatives about $350,000 in annual fastened prices to function the registries, break up between ICANN charges and registry software program/licensing on one facet and advertising and marketing/enterprise growth/overhead on the opposite. Variable prices, similar to per-domain operations, would depend upon gross sales quantity and are anticipated to be offset by area income. The publish reiterates, “The Cardano Foundation will cowl all prices instantly,” and “is not going to ask for Cardano Treasury funds.”
To floor sentiment and produce a public sign that may be cited within the utility file, the Foundation has submitted an “Info Action” for neighborhood voting. It asks stake pool operators and DReps to help the measure, arguing that seen endorsement can bolster the credibility of a community-based utility in ICANN’s assessment course of. “Please solid your vote,” the assertion urges, including that, if the Info Action passes, the Foundation will proceed to file purposes for each strings in Q1 2026.
As with most governance-adjacent proposals in Cardano, the plan has already prompted debate. In the identical discussion board thread, a neighborhood member defined a “no” vote, citing issues about Foundation governance and the focus of affect, notably after the Foundation’s heavy voting in Catalyst Fund 13.
The commenter wrote: “I voted no on this data motion,” and argued that the “scale of CF’s voting energy… undermined the ideas of decentralised governance,” suggesting an unbiased, community-governed not-for-profit is perhaps a greater registrar. While a single publish doesn’t represent a consultant pattern, it captures the contours of skepticism the Foundation might have to handle which have been fueled by IOG founder Charles Hoskinson previously.
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