2025 Reflections and a Bold Outlook for 2026

As we wrap up 2025, it’s clear the dotBrand ecosystem has reached a different stage of its life. This year wasn’t about rapid growth or big announcements. Instead, it was about focus, getting clearer on what dotBrands are really for and how they fit into long-term digital strategy.

Across the community, brand registries spent the year strengthening the fundamentals. We saw more attention on stability, governance, and security, and more thoughtful decisions about how dotBrands are actually used. For many organizations, dotBrands are no longer viewed as experimental or promotional tools; they’re trusted environments that support authenticated journeys, internal systems, and brand protection.

At the same time, the rise in DNS abuse and impersonation made something very clear: trust at the internet layer matters more than ever. Control of the namespace isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s practical. It’s protective. And it’s becoming a real differentiator for brands that operate their own registries.

2025 was also a year of reflection across the broader ecosystem. Conversations about future gTLD rounds continued, but many brand owners took a step back to focus on making the most of what they already have. That pause wasn’t a loss of momentum, but a sign of maturity.

Looking ahead, 2026 feels like a decision year. Organizations will make deliberate choices about how far they want to take their dotBrand strategies. Some will lean deeper into integration, connecting dotBrands to security, identity, privacy, and even AI-related use cases. Others will formalize a strong defensive posture, with clear governance and intent. Both approaches can be successful when they’re intentional and well understood internally.

With the new ICANN TLD application window opening in April 2026, we expect 2026 to be loud and meaningful. For existing dotBrand TLDs, we expect more internal namespaces, more focused pilots, better collaboration among brand, IT, security, and risk teams, and more conversations where dotBrands show up as part of enterprise architecture, not just domain strategy.

The Brand Registry Group remains committed to supporting members through this next phase. We’ll continue to share real-world insights, elevate best practices, and advocate for brand-led registry interests across the domain ecosystem.

Digital trust is becoming one of the defining challenges for organizations everywhere. dotBrands are uniquely positioned to help meet that challenge—when they’re actively governed, thoughtfully integrated, and aligned with broader risk and security goals.

For updates, insights, and community conversations, follow the Brand Registry Group on LinkedIn.