Document: WM-052                                                 P. Webb
Category: Handshake                                           2021.08.05

                     Four years to prove ourselves

Abstract

   What an incredible opportunity

Body

   The ICA (Internet Commerce Association) recently hosted a free
   webinar where they discussed the second round of gTLD applications
   via ICANN. For reference, the year is 2021 at this time of writing.
   The first and last round of gTLD applications happened in the anagram
   for this year: 2012; nearly a decade ago. As noted by one of the
   panel experts (Jeff Neuman, Jothan Frakes, Phil Buckingham, and
   Christa Taylor were in attendance), the world was MUCH different
   then. A notable example of such change was the mention of .crypto.
   Apparently, it was considered but seeing as how the crypto space was
   still in its infancy, ICANN brushed it off. Depending on who you
   speak to today, crypto is EVERYWHERE; much to the chagrin of one of
   my security buddies. "Crypto" as shorthand used to mean
   "cryptography" but now it’s been co-opted by cryptocurrency.

   The panelists think there will be even more interest in the next
   batch of applications, especially if ICANN reduces the cost of
   admission. Some suggstions they discussed:

   - knocking off $70,000…of the $185,000 entry price
   - application fee floor
   - eventual refunds from failed bids

   These are decent changes but ICANN is plagued by bueracracy and the
   snail-like pace that typically commands. An oft-repeated refrain was,
   "Yes, they (ICANN) can move faster and implement what the community
   wants…but WILL they?" According to someone in the chat:


   ICANN doesn’t have significant numbers of registrars in underserved
   regions. They keep putting obstacles in the way for registrars in
   those regions.



   And, another notable quote:


   ICANN working with community (members) requires a change
   in philosophy.



   ICANN’s current way of making decisions is obviously long and drawn
   out and away from the public eye, until they’ve decided something.

   As I was listening to the discussion, I couldn’t help but feel that
   Handshake handled a lot of the problems the panelists discussed.
   Namely (hah), rolling applications and not letting other applicants
   aware of which names you intend to bid on. When Handshake was
   revealed to the public, a handful of names were released over the
   course of several weeks. Also, the way you bid on names is via a
   Vickrey-style auction. In short, Vickrey-style auctions are anonymous
   and the amounts bid can be a mixture of a true bid and a blind bid.
   In short, it aims to make auctions feel more fair.

   The conservative estimate for the launch of the secound round of gTLD
   applications is 2025. Four years from now. 13 years since the last
   round. To me, this sounds a bit nutty. Insane even.

   The panelists suggested that anyone looking to get their own TLD via
   ICANN should keep their expectations in check and be realistic. It
   takes a war chest of funds to keep going back and forth with ICANN to
   approve your application. With that also comes an immense time
   commitment. They expect any name to take between 4-5 years to
   develop, but gave .music as an example that took nearly 10 years
   to finalize.

   I see opportunity here.

   If you’re an HNS maximalist/shill like myself, pro ENS, or a
   combination of the two, we have four years to kick ass and develop
   our ecosystems. Crypto took a decade to get big, we can easily do
   it in half the time. We are in a unique position to not only discover
   brilliant use cases unheard of on the legacy ‘Net, but to also bring
   these experiences to the masses and gain that sweet traction.

   Four years to show and prove. Let’s get it. 🕸