Over the past years, the domain industry has moved into a complex landscape shaped by new TLDs, changing use cases, AI, and tightening digital regulation. Market data show the “what,” but they don’t fully explain how professionals in the field perceive risks and opportunities. That’s why InterNetX and Sedo precede their annual Global Domain Report with an industry survey that captures sentiment directly from investors, registries, registrars, service providers, and brand owners. This article revisits last year’s survey, checks how those expectations matched 2024–2025 developments, and highlights what to watch as we prepare the Global Domain Report 2026 and launch the next survey round.

Did 2025 live up to expectations?

Going into 2025, survey respondents were cautiously optimistic:

• Almost 40% expected their domain registration activity to increase in 2025
• 24% expected a contraction, with about 10% predicting a significant decrease

Their expectations were shaped by a visible cooling in 2024, when global domain registrations grew by only about 1.2%, reaching roughly 364.3 million domains at the beginning of 2025. New gTLDs were the clear growth segment, expanding by around 15.9% YoY to 36.8 million domains, while legacy gTLDs stagnated and ccTLDs grew only modestly. Within the new gTLD space,.xyz, .shop, .online and .top each reach roughly 8—10% market share within their segment, underlining their role as key growth drivers.

Fast-forward to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief Q3 2025: by the end of September 2025, total registrations stood at 378.5 million, up 6.8 million (1.8%) in just one quarter and 16.2 million (4.5%) YoY. New gTLDs reached 42.9 million domains, growing 21% over 12 months, while ccTLDs climbed to 144.8 million names (+3.4% YoY).

In other words, the market did not crash. It re-accelerated from low growth in 2024 to a healthier clip in 2025, driven largely by new gTLDs and renewed momentum in .com and .net, which together reached 171.9 million domains, up 1.4% YoY.

So did the survey get it right? Broadly, yes:

• The plurality expecting growth were vindicated by a clear rebound.
• The quarter of respondents bracing for contraction reflect a reality of winners and losers within that growth: some portfolios have shrunk or consolidated even as the overall pie expanded.
• For registrars and investors, this confirms a familiar pattern: the industry is mature but not done, with growth coming from specific segments (new gTLDs, country codes with solid local brands, and niches like .ai) rather than across-the-board expansion.

Security: 24% incidents sounds small – until it’s your domain

In the 2025 report, we focused on domain security. Only 24% of survey participants said they had experienced a domain-security-related incident in 2024. At first glance that might look reassuringly low; in reality, for a critical infrastructure layer like DNS, one in four is uncomfortably high.

A “successful” domain attack rarely stays contained. When MyEtherWallet.com was hijacked in 2018 via a BGP attack against Amazon Route 53, traffic to the legitimate site was transparently redirected to a phishing clone. Reports suggest that more than $150,000 in Ethereum was stolen in a matter of hours. Analyses of major DNS attacks show the same pattern: once an attacker controls your domain or DNS, they can intercept logins, modify content, inject malware, or simply bring down your services—with brand damage that persists long after the incident is contained.

For a company whose primary customer touchpoints, SaaS platform or email infrastructure rely on a small set of domains, a single domain security incident can translate into:

• Immediate revenue loss (downtime, abandoned carts, halted partner traffic)
• Fraud and liability (phishing, crypto theft, account takeovers)
• Compliance and legal exposure (data breaches, regulatory reporting)
• Long-term trust erosion, particularly in sectors like finance, healthcare or critical infrastructure

Seen in this light, 24–25% is not a “low” number—it’s a warning that domain security controls are still inconsistent, even among professionals.

TLS/SSL is the default. DNSSEC is the differentiator.

On the positive side, the survey and Global Domain Report 2025 show that TLS/SSL is now standard across most TLD segments, with adoption figures typically between the mid-60s and high-70s percent range.

That matters because TLS/SSL:

• Encrypts data in transit, protecting credentials, session cookies and sensitive content from passive eavesdropping
• Authenticates the server, making it much harder for attackers to impersonate your site without also compromising certificate issuance
• Preserves integrity, ensuring that what users see hasn’t been modified in transit

In short: TLS/SSL doesn’t stop DNS hijacks, but it reduces what attackers can do with a simple man-in-the-middle position.

DNSSEC, by contrast, remains a laggard globally. Different measurement efforts put worldwide DNSSEC signing and validation in the low single digits to a few tens of percent, depending on methodology. Yet, according to our findings for the Global Domain Report 2025, some European ccTLDs are proof that higher adoption is achievable: .se, .no, .dk and peers have long been above the 50% mark and are pushing toward 70–75% signing rates.

Why the Nordics?

• Early policy decisions: registries in this region promoted DNSSEC aggressively, sometimes pairing it with lower wholesale prices or other incentives.
• State-driven digitalization: strong e-government and digital ID ecosystems make secure, authenticated DNS more than a “nice to have”.
• Tight-knit registrar ecosystems: a relatively small number of technically sophisticated registrars lowers friction for deploying DNSSEC at scale.

For registries, registrars and enterprise DNS operators, this split between almost ubiquitous TLS/SSL and still-rare DNSSEC is both risk and opportunity. Bundling domain security features (DNSSEC, registry lock, HSTS, DMARC, etc.) as part of mainstream offerings, rather than optional add-ons, is likely to become a key differentiator—especially as regulations catch up.

AI, NIS2, and Web3 domains

When we asked which emerging trends will shape the industry most, three clusters stood out:

• AI & machine learning—48%
• Digital policy and regulation—39%
• Blockchain and Web3 domains—35%

AI & ML

AI already touches almost every part of the value chain: automated name generation and appraisal, portfolio optimization, abuse detection, user support—and, indirectly, demand for AI terms and TLDs like .ai. External sales data and aftermarket reports confirm that AI-related domains continue to command premium pricing.

Digital policy: NIS2 and beyond

On the policy side, NIS2 looms large. The NIS2 Directive was adopted in 2022, and EU Member States had to transpose it into national law by 17 October 2024. Crucially for our space, Article 28 imposes obligations on TLD registries and domain registration service providers to maintain accurate and complete registration data, backed by verification procedures and clear policies.

Last year’s survey shows that:

• Many respondents are not yet deeply familiar with NIS2 specifics
• 54% worry about compliance costs
• 50% are concerned about the technical adjustments required

Those concerns are understandable. NIS2 is European legislation, but its impact will be felt far beyond the EU, because global registries, registrars and large corporate portfolios rarely operate in just one region. Guidance from national regulators and industry bodies is starting to appear, but we’re still in the early phase of implementation.

Web3 and blockchain-based names

Web3 domains are still a minority play in the industry, but last year’s survey shows a clear interest curve:

• 32% of respondents were familiar with blockchain-based naming services and 35% somewhat familiar
• 32% already owned Web3 domains, even though more than half said they did not and weren’t considering it
• On future importance, only 19% said blockchain would not matter for domains, while the rest ranged from “somewhat important” to “very important”

The message: industry professionals are watching this space closely, even if they haven’t fully jumped in. With experiments to bridge traditional DNS domains and on-chain representations now underway in several ecosystems, the Global Domain Report 2026 will help show whether this is maturing into a mainstream component or remaining a speculative side bet.

The domain aftermarket: stable, selective, tech-driven

The aftermarket itself remained remarkably steady in 2024. At Sedo, the average sale price was around $2,345 across roughly 350 traded TLDs, with a median price of $549, indicating a broad, mid-market transaction base rather than a handful of outliers. .com dominated with 59% of transactions, followed by .de (13%), and .org / .net at about 4% each.

Keyword demand was led by technology and innovation (AI, automation, etc.), finance and cryptocurrency, and e-commerce and online services—a pattern confirmed by survey responses, where about 70% of participants highlighted tech/innovation terms, 53% finance & crypto and 40% online services as the most promising themes.

For domain investors, that translates into a clear message: quality is beating quantity. Curated portfolios with strong tech and finance terms in .com, relevant ccTLDs and carefully chosen new gTLDs still look well-positioned.

Help shape the Global Domain Report 2026

If you work with domains—whether as an investor, broker, registry, registrar, policy professional or brand owner—your perspective is part of this story.

• Take the new survey to share how you see domain registrations, investment, AI, regulation and Web3 evolving into 2026.
• Preregister for the Global Domain Report 2026 to receive the full report in your inbox once it’s published, including this year’s survey findings and the latest data from across the domain universe.

The DNS is changing faster than ever. Adding your voice now helps ensure that the next edition of the Global Domain Report reflects not just global statistics, but the real-world experience of experts like you.