OpenAI, Google and Meta are competing for the .agent domain, while digital-asset companies have applied for endings including .bitcoin, .wallet and .crypto. ICANN said on October 7 that it had received 1,615 applications from 481 applicants in its latest round of generic top-level domain (gTLD) bids. It is the first time applications for new gTLDs have been open since 2012, extending the contest for control of online addresses into artificial intelligence and crypto.
Winning a domain could give a company the right to operate that extension under ICANN rules and charge fees for registrations beneath it. Where multiple applicants seek the same name, the process could proceed to an auction, raising the cost of securing it. None of the contested domains has been awarded.
OpenAI, Google and Meta compete for .agent
Thirteen applicants are seeking .agent, making it one of the round’s most contested extensions. OpenAI submitted applications for 15 domains, including .agent, .agi, .asi, .gpt, .model, .skill, .voice and .mcp. Google, part of Alphabet, also applied for .agent and .mcp, among other names. Meta is pursuing .agent as well as extensions linked to its AI products.
Application records show seven other bidders for .agi, an abbreviation for artificial general intelligence, while .mcp drew five applications. MCP is a standard developed by Anthropic that allows AI applications to connect with external tools and data. Anthropic itself applied only for .anthropic and .claude, not .mcp.
The bids show technology companies positioning themselves for internet addresses that could be used by AI agents. As agent software interacts more with websites, software services and financial infrastructure, domain names could become part of how companies manage their online identities and service entry points. An application, however, does not mean that a related service is already available.
The evaluation fee for a standard application is $227,000. Multiple bids for the same extension can add to the cost of securing it. Google’s domain-registration subsidiary paid $25 million for .app at an ICANN auction in 2015, illustrating the potential price tag for sought-after names.
Crypto firms target .bitcoin, .wallet and .crypto
Digital-asset companies have also submitted a number of bids. ICANN’s preliminary contention data lists 11 applications for .bit and five for .crypto. .wallet and .dao each drew four applications, while .bitcoin, .btc and .nft each received two.
The proposed extensions are associated with crypto assets, blockchain networks and online payments. Applicants are seeking a place in the internet’s naming infrastructure, with the possibility of linking conventional web addresses to on-chain identities or financial services. Any such functionality would depend on further technical development and integration.
The Cardano Foundation said on October 8 that its application for .ada had advanced to the next stage of ICANN’s process. Frax Finance also disclosed an application for .frax and proposed connecting the domain with on-chain ownership, payments and AI-driven commercial activity.
Approval of a domain would not by itself enable blockchain transactions or wallet functions; those services would require additional technical integration. For now, none of the contested extensions has been assigned, and ICANN’s subsequent procedures will determine whether applicants secure the names they seek.