D3 has launched Frontier, a program that lets users deposit eligible assets in Solana and Hyperliquid vaults to earn points toward priority access to new internet domain names.
Summary
- D3 says users can commit Frontier Points to names offered by participating domain registries.
- Loopscale supports the Solana vault, while Hyperion DeFi and Upshift support the Hyperliquid vault.
- ICANN says 1,616 applications have qualified to proceed in its 2026 round for new domain extensions.
- Each registry will set its own timing and eligibility rules before names become generally available.
D3, the core contributor to Doma Protocol, announced Frontier at Korea Blockchain Week on Sep. 28. Under the program, members deposit eligible assets with supported vault providers, earn Frontier Points, and commit those points to establish priority for names offered by participating registries.
Priority does not amount to ownership of a domain. D3 says access applies before general registration, the stage when a registry opens names to the public. Each registry controls its own schedule and eligibility requirements, while the proposed extensions must pass the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ approval process.
How D3’s Frontier program uses crypto vaults
Frontier opens with two vaults. Loopscale supports the one on Solana, and Hyperion DeFi and Upshift support the one on Hyperliquid, according to D3. The company says it plans to add vaults on other chains in the coming months.
Members earn points through deposits with the supported providers, then use those points to seek priority for names under participating extensions. The arrangement puts a crypto-based points system ahead of a conventional domain registration process: registries, rather than the vaults, determine when eligible names can be registered.
D3 describes Frontier as a way for asset holders to participate without a prior relationship with a registry or domain broker. Its release also says more than 20 applicants and registries have committed to the program ahead of ICANN’s Reveal Day, when the organization will publish details of the applications that have cleared its administrative checks.
The Solana and Hyperliquid connections are part of a domain business D3 has been building for several years. Doma Protocol is designed to represent conventional internet domains on a blockchain so they can be used in on-chain applications. In January 2025, D3 raised $25 million in a Series A round led by Paradigm to develop Doma; Coinbase Ventures also participated.
Hyperion DeFi’s role gives the launch a direct link to U.S. public markets. The company trades on Nasdaq under HYPD and supports Frontier’s Hyperliquid vault alongside Upshift. Hyperion CEO Hyunsu Jung said the arrangement would give the Hyperliquid community access to the program as new extensions are considered in ICANN’s round.
Scott Lee, the Solana Foundation’s head of Korea, pointed to potential uses for domain names on Solana in a statement accompanying the launch. D3 has named possible extensions including .agent, .wallet, .sol and .robot, while Jung referred to .hype. ICANN, however, has said its own Reveal Day publication will be the complete verified record of who applied and for which extensions.
ICANN’s 2026 round has 1,616 applications proceeding
ICANN confirmed on Sep. 22 that 1,616 applications had met the payment requirement to proceed. Applicants submitted 1,663 requests before the window closed on Aug. 12. The organization will publish the public portions of the paid applications on Reveal Day, including proposed extensions that multiple applicants may be seeking.
An application is for the right to operate a top-level domain, such as the part after the final dot in a web address. Frontier members would instead seek individual names beneath extensions operated by registries that participate in D3’s program. ICANN’s review, any objections, and the resolution of competing applications come before a new extension can enter the standard domain system.
The previous ICANN application round took place in 2012 and led to more than 1,200 new extensions, according to the organization. D3 CEO and co-founder Fred Hsu described the new round as an opportunity to bring crypto users into an established domain market:
“Frontier is how crypto gets in at the start of this domain supercycle.”
Other crypto-linked naming projects have taken different approaches to the same ICANN round. In August, crypto.news reported Unstoppable Domains’ withdrawal from applications for nine of its own Web3 extensions, including .crypto and .wallet. Founder Matthew Gould said the expected application, compliance and possible auction costs were higher than the sales the company expected to recover. Unstoppable said it would refund customers whose purchases were tied to its earlier ICANN plans.
The distinction between a blockchain-only name and an ICANN-approved domain matters for ordinary web use. Unstoppable said its existing on-chain names would continue to work in supported wallets and applications, even though the affected extensions would not gain standard browser resolution through the applications it dropped. D3’s Frontier program, by comparison, concerns priority for names offered by participating registries if their extensions move through ICANN’s process.
Telegram has also applied for .gram in the 2026 round. Founder Pavel Durov said approval could allow users to register names beneath that extension and create Telegram-hosted websites. ICANN must approve the application before .gram can operate as a conventional internet domain.
Registries will set the registration terms
For a Frontier member, earning points is only one step. D3 says members must commit them toward names from participating registries to establish priority, and each registry decides when registration opens and who qualifies. The release places that priority period before general registration but ties both stages to ICANN’s process.
ICANN says Reveal Day will show the public-facing parts of applications that passed its administrative check and identify extensions sought by more than one applicant. After publication, applications can face community input, objections, evaluation, and procedures to resolve competing requests before successful registries can operate their extensions.
