Unstoppable Abandons Web3 Domain Plans Amid Market Size Concerns
Unstoppable Domains has decided not to apply for its web3 top-level domains in ICANN's 2026 expansion round. The company had previously promised that names like .crypto and .wallet would one day resolve in ordinary browsers, but the cost of taking these domains through ICANN was higher than what Unstoppable expected to recover in sales.
In a blog post, founder Matthew Gould explained that the decision not to apply for the web3 domains was based on the size of the market. 'I think a lot of people have an inflated sense of the web3 market since the 2021 crypto nft bubble,' he wrote. 'It is small. It is niche.'
Unstoppable will refund customers who bought names under its original extensions, which include .ZIL.Crypto.Wallet.NFT.Bitcoin, and .DAO. The company had previously sent out emails to affected customers.
Gould noted that the web3 domains will remain as onchain assets for crypto transactions as they have always been. Unstoppable is still filing applications for other domain strings through ICANN.