Wiz submits community application for .bitcoin domain to ICANN ahead of August 12 deadline

Wiz, the operator behind the popular Bitcoin block explorer mempool.space, has filed a community priority application with ICANN to secure the .bitcoin top-level domain. The goal is straightforward: keep .bitcoin in the hands of actual Bitcoin participants, not some random corporate buyer with deep pockets and shallow convictions. The application lands ahead of ICANN’s August 12, 2026, deadline at 23:59 UTC, part of a new gTLD application window that opened on April 30. This is the first time ICANN has opened gTLD applications since 2012. If the Bitcoin community doesn’t secure .bitcoin through this community priority process, the domain goes to auction, where anyone with enough money could acquire it. What a community priority application actually means ICANN’s generic top-level domain program lets organizations apply to operate new domain extensions. A community priority application is a specific mechanism that gives preference to applicants who represent a clearly defined community with a legitimate claim to the string in question. Wiz is essentially arguing that .bitcoin should belong to the Bitcoin community, not whoever writes the biggest check. The application would restrict...