🚨NEW: Telegram has applied for the Gram domain zone
Telegram is trying to own a permanent slice of the internet’s address system so it can turn its usernames into real web addresses and host simple AI-built sites for its users
While reducing dependence on third parties
What Telegram is actually applying for
Telegram submitted an application in ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD program
To become the registry operator for Gram
The first major expansion of top level domains since 2012
If successful
Telegram would control the entire Gram zone the way Verisign controls .com or Google controls google
It would decide who gets names under it, set the rules, and run the technical infrastructure
What users would actually get
Addresses like “yourusername.gram” that map to their existing Telegram username
The ability to create an interactive website at that address using a single AI prompt
With the site hosted by Telegram
These would function as real internet but they would not be independently owned domains in the classic sense
They would be Telegram controlled second level names
More like a branded namespace or a fancy version of a Gmail address than a transferable .com you buy from a registrar
The real motivation
Independence after a scare in July 2026
Telegram’s short t.me links broke for nearly a day because of issues with the third party .me registry
Owning .gram removes that single point of failure for their web identity layer
Deeper ecosystem lock-in
Users online presence becomes more tightly tied to Telegram
Websites, profiles, and links live inside
Telegram’s world even when they appear on the open web
Brand and product expansion
It turns Telegram from a messaging app into a fuller platform for personal/professional web presence
powered by their AI tools
One prompt to a live site is a low friction way to get non technical users online
This is a strategic move for platform sovereignty and tighter user integration not a free gift of traditional domain. #GRAM
Telegram is trying to own a permanent slice of the internet’s address system so it can turn its usernames into real web addresses and host simple AI-built sites for its users
While reducing dependence on third parties
What Telegram is actually applying for
Telegram submitted an application in ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD program
To become the registry operator for Gram
The first major expansion of top level domains since 2012
If successful
Telegram would control the entire Gram zone the way Verisign controls .com or Google controls google
It would decide who gets names under it, set the rules, and run the technical infrastructure
What users would actually get
Addresses like “yourusername.gram” that map to their existing Telegram username
The ability to create an interactive website at that address using a single AI prompt
With the site hosted by Telegram
These would function as real internet but they would not be independently owned domains in the classic sense
They would be Telegram controlled second level names
More like a branded namespace or a fancy version of a Gmail address than a transferable .com you buy from a registrar
The real motivation
Independence after a scare in July 2026
Telegram’s short t.me links broke for nearly a day because of issues with the third party .me registry
Owning .gram removes that single point of failure for their web identity layer
Deeper ecosystem lock-in
Users online presence becomes more tightly tied to Telegram
Websites, profiles, and links live inside
Telegram’s world even when they appear on the open web
Brand and product expansion
It turns Telegram from a messaging app into a fuller platform for personal/professional web presence
powered by their AI tools
One prompt to a live site is a low friction way to get non technical users online
This is a strategic move for platform sovereignty and tighter user integration not a free gift of traditional domain. #GRAM