The Cardano community has overwhelmingly approved a governance proposal to pursue the acquisition of .ada and .cardano generic top-level domains (gTLDs), with 74.5% support in a vote that surpassed the 66.7% approval threshold. Out of 225 entities participating, 186 voted in favor, 24 against, and 15 abstained.
The Cardano Foundation will now begin drafting applications to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), with the application period set to open in Q1 2026. This marks the first such opportunity since 2012, and the Foundation will fund the initiative from its own budget, collaborating with community experts and vendors throughout the process.
Securing these domains aims to enhance Cardano's global digital presence, improve trust and credibility, and unlock new innovations bridging Web2 and Web3. For instance, ecosystem participants could use addresses like nmkr.cardano or vespr.ada, fostering broader adoption and utility.
In related developments, the Cardano Foundation recently addressed a $2.08 million treasury withdrawal proposal to expand global exchange listings for ADA and other tokens, though the gTLD initiative remains the focal point of this news.
