.block
Is .block a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.block is not contested. One applicant has said publicly that it applied to run it, and nobody else has, as of 15 August 2026. It is Link Freedom Group.
Catchy for blockchain startups, but most serious crypto projects will likely stick with mainstream endings; a niche, price-driven market.
crypto and web3 startups, blockchain infrastructure and tooling projects, and developers who want a themed, brandable suffix; secondarily, speculators and defensive registrants around the word's broader tech and commerce meanings.
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Trust, built in.”
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: an ordinary English noun that a young technology paradigm has quietly annexed, applied for on the wager that the technical meaning eclipses the plain one and pulls an infrastructure-flavored land grab of registrants who want to signal they are native to that paradigm.
Same bet: a short, vertical-less structural noun whose technical connotation does all the selling, monetized as a broad open namespace rather than sold to any defined industry or credentialed group.
Same bet in the generic-polysemous-noun sense — a common word carrying both a literal physical reading and an abstract/tech-community one, launched as an unrestricted general-purpose namespace — but it lacks the specific emerging-infrastructure claim that gives the target its thesis.
What a .block domain is
.block is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under Crypto. One applicant has said publicly that it applied for .block.
Is the .block domain extension real yet?
.block is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .block domain?
You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .block name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .block was .cloud, delegated on .
Is .block a real TLD?
Not yet. .block is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because an applicant said publicly that it applied for .block in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round. Every claim on this page links to its source.
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“.block · Crypto & Web3 · “Trust, built in.””Link Freedom Group
“LFG voluntarily published its full list of submissions ahead of ICANN’s official Reveal Day.”PR Newswire (Link Freedom Group)
“Top level domain registry Link Freedom Group (LFG) has disclosed more than 300 strings submitted as part of the ICANN new top level domain name program.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Band chosen: usable but limited (30-49). The string is a short, strong English word with a natural suffix-style read (project.block) and an obvious blockchain hook, plus non-crypto meanings (building blocks, city blocks) that widen its registrant base; that keeps it above the vanity/joke band, where demand is shallow and event-driven. It falls short of the strong-niche band because, by analogy with earlier crypto-themed namespaces, web3 teams have tended to brand on incumbent generic endings or on on-chain naming systems rather than adopting a themed DNS ending as their primary identity, so genuine sustained primary-identity use is unproven and the aftermarket is likely thin. Within the next 5 years I expect volume registrations driven by pricing and speculation, occasional real project use, and weak resale premiums. Applicant facts are neutral context: the string is announced by a very large multi-string applicant, which suggests portfolio-driven rather than community-driven demand and adds uncertainty about focused category marketing; it does not change what the string itself can command. Main market uncertainty: whether web3 builders will treat crypto-themed DNS endings as credible primary identities at all, or continue to default to mainstream TLDs and on-chain names.