New gTLD Applicants Reveal Strings Ahead of ICANN Contention

Two more new gTLD applicants just stepped out of the shadows. According to Domain Name Wire, Suffix Domains and Phoenix Domain Partners publicly disclosed the strings they applied for in the 2026 ICANN round — and several of those strings are heading straight for contention with Link Freedom Group.

What's on the table

Suffix Domains posted 13 strings on X over the weekend:.asap,.create,.future,.lfg,.mvp,.out,.pal,.planet,.research,.share,.tag,.this,.visit. The company's rudimentary website hints it may have applied for as many as 89 strings in total. My read? They're only sharing these 13 because they clash with what Link Freedom Group already disclosed. Hard to tell yet whether Link Freedom's matching strings are primary picks or replacement slots.

Phoenix Domain Partners listed its own 13 strings —.merch,.amor,.beach,.bbq,.chic,.comics,.connect,.jackpot,.pool,.quince,.quote,.therapy,.vibe — and confirmed application fees are paid. Four of those,.merch,.connect,.therapy, and.vibe, are likely to bump up against Link Freedom's claims. Phoenix's site is mostly silent on who's behind it, aside from an email tied to someone named Evatt, though the company has prior experience with new TLD rounds.

The pattern from both: this round is getting crowded, and we're seeing the early skirmishes before ICANN even publishes contention sets.

Why it matters for your portfolio

Here's where I sit as someone holding domains: every new gTLD that survives contention becomes either a tailwind or a tax on your existing assets. If.merch or.therapy launches clean, your.com or.io brand in that vertical just got a more memorable alternative to compete with. If contention kills one of them in a drawn-out auction, expect legal and administrative friction that delays launch by a year or more.

This is also why I keep a watchlist of every disclosed string, not just the obvious ones..quince caught my eye — it's a fruit, sure, but it's also the name of a sizable e-commerce brand. That's the kind of dual-use string that either ends up in a premium auction or gets quietly shelved. You want to know which before your end-user does.

A catchy, sticky extension has real commercial pull. The way a hook like APT burrows into global memory, a clean.vibe or.jackpot can become a brand default. That branding upside is what justifies the application fees these operators are paying up front.

On a related note, ShortDot and Dot Hip Hop, LLC announced a partnership where ShortDot takes over global marketing, registrar distribution, and premium domain strategy for.HipHop. That kind of post-application deal is worth tracking — it signals which registries are serious about monetizing versus parking their assets.

What I'm watching

Three things over the next few weeks:

• Whether Link Freedom Group responds publicly to the contentions or stays quiet through the process.
• Whether either applicant discloses additional strings beyond these 13.
• Any new applicants stepping forward — Domain Name Wire is openly soliciting disclosures, which means the floodgates aren't fully open yet.

If you hold.com or legacy assets in any of the contested verticals — therapy, merch, connect, vibe — start pricing scenarios now. Contention outcomes move slowly, but the second they resolve, secondary market prices on matching legacy names can shift overnight.