.point
Is .point a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.point is contested: 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are XYZ Registry and Identity Digital. Exchange Point Institute named .point as a backup string for its .tiny application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Link Freedom Group named .point as a backup string for its .asi application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
Who is applying, and what they run today
Two of the two already run TLDs, 26.76M names between them. One runs one of .point's closest 2012 strings: Identity Digital .place.
Will names sell?
A catchy generic word for loyalty apps and 'on point' branding, but most buyers will treat it as a novelty, not a real home.
Last round the AI scored the 2012 strings blind to their fate. Strings it scored 60 or more hold a median 27,168 names today; those under 30, a median of 30. .point’s closest 2012 strings hold .spot 2K, .place 11K and .xn--eckvdtc9d 2.
The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today
The closest 2012 string, .spot, held 1,606 names, June 2026. .place held 10,899; .ポイント held 2. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet exactly: a short, abstract generic English noun meaning a location/marker that nobody owns and no community claims, so the registry is wagering on open-market semantic appeal to any registrant rather than on a defined vertical.
Another undifferentiated locational common noun sold to the general public, where success depends entirely on registrants inventing a use for a vague word rather than on an existing industry needing a namespace.
Literally the same dictionary word in another script, and it shows the same generic-noun play, but its buyer is narrowed to Japanese loyalty-points commerce rather than an unrestricted global generic.
Where they meet elsewhere
Identity Digital and XYZ Registry face each other in 77 contests this round, .point included.
- Identity Digital × XYZ Registry
- Identity Digital × Link Freedom Group
- XYZ Registry × Link Freedom Group
loyalty and rewards platforms, fintech perks products, and brand-play marketers wanting an 'on.point'-style name; secondarily mapping/location tools and slogan-driven campaign sites.
What a .point domain is
.point is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Commerce category. 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .point domain extension real yet?
.point 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 .point domain?
You can’t yet. A .point name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .point was .spot, delegated on 19 February 2016.
Is .point a real TLD?
Not yet. .point is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .point is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Link Freedom Group · now deactivated backupICANN
- Exchange Point Institute · first recordedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now abandonedICANN
- 2 applicants · first recordedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
The source’s 4 linesHide the lines
EPI2675T-T51878 · Exchange Point Institute · replacement string of .tiny · Deactivated LFGL2683T-T23706 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · replacement string of .asi · Deactivated PTL2645T-T49983 · Pirin Tablet, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-185 XL2625T-T98505 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-185
“PTL2645T-T49983 · Pirin Tablet, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-185 XL2625T-T98505 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-185”ICANN
“.point · Lifestyle · “The sharp end.””Link Freedom Group
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). The string is a common English word with several genuine semantic hooks: loyalty and rewards ('points'), the slang compliment 'on point', locations and map points, and scoring. That plausibly supports volume registrations and clever domain hacks (on.point, match.point, turning.point). By analogy (flagged as analogy), short generic-word TLDs such as .click, .link, and .live have historically driven registration volume largely through low pricing and redirects rather than primary-identity use, and their aftermarkets have stayed thin outside a handful of premium words; .point looks likely to follow that pattern over the next 5 years. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no single coherent buyer category where .point would be a default identity that needs no explaining; loyalty programs mostly brand under the parent company's existing domain, and a .point address would still require justification to stakeholders. It is not in the 10-29 band because the word's multiple hooks and hack potential give it broader, less event-driven appeal than a pure vanity string, and a serious loyalty-tech startup could credibly use one as a primary identity. Applicant context: the string was announced by Link Freedom Group, which filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round and published its catalog (entry: category 'Lifestyle', tagline 'The sharp end.'); a very large portfolio applicant suggests a volume/pricing-led go-to-market rather than concentrated category-building marketing, which tempers adoption expectations. Whether any alternative-root or blockchain naming system already distributes a colliding .point namespace is unknown, and pricing plans are unknown. Main market uncertainty: whether loyalty/rewards fintechs actually adopt .point as primary identity at any meaningful rate, or whether demand stays as cheap hack and campaign registrations.