.moon
Is .moon a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.moon is contested: 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are XYZ Registry, Oinkadot and Link Freedom Group. Identity Digital named .moon as a backup string for its .king application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. NextGEN TLDs named .moon as a backup string for its .fafo application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Aruba named .moon as a backup string for its .ask application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .moon as a backup string for its .pop application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A fun, evocative ending for crypto memes and space-themed projects, but few serious ventures would make it their main web address.
crypto and meme-coin projects drawn to 'to the moon' branding, space and lunar-economy startups, and creators or lifestyle brands wanting a dreamy one-word ending
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Orbiting new possibilities.”
One of 25 strings the Oinkadot partnership (Ray King of Porkbun and Todd Han of Dynadot) applied for in the ICANN 2026 round, per Domain Name Wire's exclusive.
One of the 80 strings ShortDot published for the ICANN 2026 round. ShortDot states it has submitted 40 applications, but publishes the 80 strings without revealing which 40 are applications and which 40 are designated replacements. The submission claim is therefore applicant-level, not string-level: nothing in the source says ShortDot applied for THIS string. Catalogued, not announced.
Aruba S.p.A. told Domain Name Wire it applied for 39 strings in the 2026 round 'as primary or replacement', listing .moon among them without saying which strings are primary. The claim is the applicant's own, post-filing, relayed by the publication. Founder ruling 2026-09-09: recorded as announced. Already on the record from another applicant, so this adds to the contention set.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .fafo application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .king application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
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: a singular celestial-body common noun with no commercial category behind it, sold on evocative planetary identity to a scattered mix of idealists, science outfits, and brands wanting a short poetic name, so it works only if meaning-by-association beats meaning-by-industry.
Same kind of bet — a short, dual-meaning evocative noun in the cosmic register that no single industry owns, monetized as a general-purpose creative/tech namespace rather than as a vertical people already shop in.
Also a one-word celestial noun whose value is metaphorical rather than categorical, depending on registrants adopting it for aspiration and vibe instead of because it labels what they do.
What a .moon domain is
.moon is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Culture category. 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .moon domain extension real yet?
.moon 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 .moon domain?
You can’t yet. A .moon 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 .moon was .earth, delegated on 14 May 2015.
Is .moon a real TLD?
Not yet. .moon is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .moon is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Identity Digital · first recordedICANN
- NextGEN TLDs · first recordedICANN
- ShortDot · now deactivated backupICANN
- Aruba · now deactivated backupICANN
- Aruba · now abandonedICANN
- ShortDot · now abandonedICANN
- XYZ Registry · first recordedICANN
- Oinkadot · now confirmedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now confirmedICANN
- ShortDot · now announced
- Aruba · first recordedDomain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann), quoting Aruba S.p.A.
- ShortDot · first recordedShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Oinkadot · first recordedDomain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“APEC2611T-T29488 · Aruba PEC S.P.A. · replacement string of .ask · Deactivated LFGL2683T-T89070 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-158 NA2626T-T90969 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .pop · Deactivated NTG2671T-T30879 · NextGEN TLDs GmbH · replacement string of .fafo · Deactivated OI2692T-T43201 · Oinkadot Inc · primary · contention set 2026-158 VC2665T-T40556 · Vanity Check, LLC · replacement string of .king · Deactivated XL2625T-T69720 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-158”ICANN
“LFGL2683T-T89070 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-158 OI2692T-T43201 · Oinkadot Inc · primary · contention set 2026-158 XL2625T-T69720 · XYZ.COM LLC · primary · contention set 2026-158”ICANN
“Aruba S.p.A., which operates the .cloud top level domain, is expanding its domain portfolio. The company told Domain Name Wire that it applied for 39 top level domains in this year's new TLD round. That number includes replacement strings. [...] The company applied for the following strings as primary or replacement: aid, all, ask, beta, bit, bnb, cart, ciao, daily, demo, easy, fix, gaming, gen, genius, gym, happy, hello, hola, human, kit, lab, mars, max, moon, omg, pec, pop, rem, roma, sign, sito, super, tag, tex, vps, yes, zen, zzz”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann), quoting Aruba S.p.A.
“ShortDot (Ireland) Limited has submitted 40 applications to ICANN's 2026 New gTLD Program. The 80 strings shown include applied-for and designated replacement strings across ShortDot's 40 ICANN applications, presented without revealing their status or pairing.”ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
“A new partnership has applied for 25 top level domain names in this year's ICANN TLD expansion round.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
“.moon · Culture · “Orbiting new possibilities.””Link Freedom Group
- Band chosen: usable but limited (30-49). The string is a universally recognized dictionary word with strong emotional and meme resonance, which by analogy with other evocative space/nature strings such as .space, .world, and .earth suggests it can attract registration volume, much of it price-driven, plus bursts of crypto-adjacent demand where 'moon' is slang for price appreciation (analogy, not verified data). It is not in the 50-69 band because sustained primary-identity use is likely thin: the analogous evocative TLDs have, by analogy, seen most registrations sit as side projects, redirects, or speculative holds rather than as the front door of funded ventures, and a .moon identity would need explaining in most business contexts over the next 5 years. It is not in the 10-29 band because the word's breadth (space exploration, crypto culture, romance, nightlife, wellness) gives it more than joke or event-driven demand, and a genuine if small lunar-economy and space-startup segment could plausibly use it earnestly. The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round and lists this one under 'Culture' with the tagline 'Orbiting new possibilities.'; a portfolio applicant of that size suggests standardized rather than category-specialist go-to-market, which tempers expectations for dedicated vertical adoption but does not change the string's intrinsic appeal. Main market uncertainty: whether crypto-meme demand converts into renewing, sustained registrations or remains spiky and churn-heavy, and whether any real space-sector cohort adopts it as primary identity rather than defaulting to .com or .space-style alternatives.