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Home » .AGENT and Beyond: The New Frontier of Bi-Registry TLDs

.AGENT and Beyond: The New Frontier of Bi-Registry TLDs

With the launch of .AGENT, Unstoppable Domains is accelerating a now-established strategy: creating Web3 identities today that may become fully fledged DNS extensions tomorrow. As the 2026 ICANN round approaches, this new wave of cryptoTLDs (.AGENT, but also .ROBOT and .SECRET) is reshaping long-standing assumptions in online brand protection. The priority enjoyed by blockchain-registered domain names fundamentally alters the landscape and raises an unavoidable question: should brand owners secure their identifiers now, before they become inaccessible, including through private tools such as GlobalBlock?

A strategic launch in the Web3 ecosystem. Unstoppable Domains continues its expansion by adding another piece to its cryptoTLD portfolio with the launch of .AGENT, presented as the reference domain for autonomous agent systems.[1] It is worth noting that this announcement comes at a moment when such systems are increasingly being deployed within enterprises, giving .AGENT an instantly appealing technological identity.

A clear intention: targeting the 2026 ICANN round. As part of a now-familiar strategy, Unstoppable Domains accompanies the launch with a declaration of intent: applying to the next ICANN round in 2026 to obtain a DNS version of .AGENT. For now, the extension exists solely on the blockchain, and the IANA database lists no .AGENT in the root zone. Only .AGENCY, delegated in 2014, is currently active within the traditional DNS. Should ICANN approve the .AGENT application, the extension would become a hybrid TLD, operating simultaneously on the blockchain and in the DNS, a development that raises  questions for trademark protection.

A broader movement. Indeed, .AGENT is not an isolated case. According to the strategy signaled by Unstoppable Domains, several cryptoTLDs could be presented in the 2026 ICANN round, including .AGENT, .ROBOT, .SECRET, .DREAM, .NEXUS, .POLYGON, .X, .WALLET, .CRYPTO, .NFT and .DAO. This phenomenon now goes far beyond experimentation: it represents a deliberate shift aimed at moving blockchain-born extensions into the DNS ecosystem.

Web3 priority: an unprecedented challenge for trademark owners. The precedence of cryptoTLDs over future gTLDs (notably those expected in 2026) must serve as a warning. The protection mechanisms built into the ICANN framework (sunrise periods, the TradeMark ClearingHouse (TMCH), Claims services) do not exist in blockchain-based systems. Moreover, if a blockchain-origin extension (such as .AGENT or others) enters the DNS, it remains uncertain whether these ICANN mechanisms will apply retroactively. A brand may therefore face a paradoxical situation: being unable to obtain brand.agent in the DNS not because of a prior right, but because a third party secured it much earlier in a blockchain environment. This issue will inevitably require solutions.

Unstoppable Domains and GlobalBlock. There is, however, a practical tool available to trademark owners: Unstoppable Domains is a member of the GlobalBlock coalition, a private blocking solution that prevents the registration of domain names identical to protected marks (brand.tld) across hundreds of DNS extensions and an expanding set of cryptoTLDs. In addition, the extended version of the service (called “GlobalBlock+”) blocks attempts to register typographical and orthographic variations of trademarks (e.g., barnd.tld). These mechanisms offer effective preventive protection, but only for brand owners who activate them. Crucially, neither GlobalBlock nor GlobalBlock+ removes pre-existing registrations.

A strategic dilemma: register now or wait? The gap between the immediate availability of a cryptodomain such as brand.agent and the uncertain future availability of a DNS domain name brand.agent raises a delicate but highly practical dilemma: should brand owners secure identifiers now in cryptoTLDs that may become gTLDs, or rely primarily on GlobalBlock solutions? For well-known brands or those already exposed to Web3 cybersquatting (particularly in finance, technology, and artificial intelligence) the issue is far from theoretical, and defensive registrations become an essential part of risk mitigation.

Toward bi-registry extensions: a new landscape. The creation of .AGENT, among others, illustrates the emergence of a “bi-registry” model in which an extension exists simultaneously in two distinct environments: one built on blockchain infrastructure and the other governed by ICANN policies. This duality requires heightened vigilance. Brand owners must now monitor both what happens in the DNS root zone and what develops in parallel systems (including blockchain-based ones), where registrations often precede any institutional governance, and where only private solutions such as GlobalBlock can partially compensate for the absence of Sunrise or TMCH protections.

IP Twins: a partner in a rapidly evolving environment. IP Twins provides tailored solutions to anticipate risks, secure sensitive identifiers, and build coherent protection strategies across both DNS and Web3 environments, including through blocking mechanisms such as GlobalBlock where relevant. In a landscape where the rules are being written in real time, reliable expertise is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

Notes

[1] Agentic systems refer to artificial intelligence systems capable of planning, reasoning and acting autonomously to accomplish complex tasks, often by interacting with tools or with other agents.

Further Reading

[1] Agentic systems refer to artificial intelligence systems capable of planning, reasoning and acting autonomously to accomplish complex tasks, often by interacting with tools or with other agents.