Telegram Wants to Turn Every Username Into a Web Address
Pavel Durov says Telegram has applied to ICANN for its own .gram top-level domain, opening the possibility that Telegram usernames could become ordinary web addresses. Under the proposed model, @durov could map to durov.gram and other users could receive matching addresses tied to their Telegram identities. Durov's broader vision goes further: interactive websites could be generated from a text prompt and served through Telegram infrastructure without users managing conventional hosting or writing code.Telegram says it has applied for the .gram domain zone
Durov announced the plan in a post on his Telegram channel, saying Telegram had submitted an application for the .gram domain zone. If ICANN approves it, he said, the platform's roughly billion-user audience could potentially receive second-level addresses corresponding to Telegram usernames.The idea is simple at the user level. A Telegram identity such as @durov could become durov.gram, while another username could receive the equivalent address under the same top-level domain. The result would connect a Telegram identity directly to the public Domain Name System rather than requiring a separate .com, .net or country-code domain.
The important word is "could." Telegram has announced an application, not an approved domain launch.
ICANN has not approved .gram yet
Telegram's announcement arrived immediately after the application period for ICANN's 2026 New Generic Top-Level Domains round. ICANN said the window closed on August 12 after receiving more than 1,600 primary applications.Individual applicants and requested domain strings are not yet public. ICANN says Reveal Day will occur after its administrative checks, no later than roughly nine weeks after the application window closes. Only then should the public be able to independently confirm Telegram's .gram application and see whether another applicant has requested the same or a conflicting string.
Even after Reveal Day, .gram would still face technical, financial and policy evaluation before it could enter the global DNS root. Telegram therefore has a plan, not a live domain registry.
The bigger idea is a website generated from one prompt
The domain proposal becomes more ambitious when combined with Telegram's publishing plans. Durov says users would be able to create interactive websites associated with their .gram addresses through natural-language prompts, removing much of the conventional workflow of buying hosting, configuring servers and manually building a page.In practical terms, a user could describe the desired site, let an AI system generate its structure and content, and publish the result through Telegram-controlled infrastructure. The messaging account would become identity, editing interface and distribution layer at the same time.
If Telegram ships that model as described, .gram would not merely be another domain extension. It would become the addressing layer for an integrated website builder tied directly to Telegram accounts.
A .gram address may not work like a normal domain you own
There is an important distinction between having an address such as durov.gram and independently owning a conventional domain registration. If Telegram operates .gram as a controlled brand namespace and assigns names according to Telegram usernames, the platform could retain authority over creation, suspension and reassignment of those addresses.That would be structurally different from registering a .com through an independent registrar and later transferring it elsewhere. A Telegram-linked address could remain dependent on the underlying Telegram account and the registry policies the company eventually adopts.
Those ownership rules have not yet been published. Until Telegram explains registration, renewal, transfer and dispute policies, users should treat the promise as a new web identity layer rather than assume every account will receive a freely transferable domain asset.
Owning .gram would also give Telegram more infrastructure control
A successful .gram application would give Telegram substantially more control over an important part of its public web presence. Instead of placing every address beneath a third-party top-level domain, Telegram or its contracted registry service provider could operate the authoritative infrastructure for the .gram namespace under ICANN rules.That matters at Telegram's scale. User profiles, channels, bots, services and future websites could all be addressed inside a namespace designed specifically for the platform. Telegram would still depend on the global DNS and ICANN framework, but it would control far more of the infrastructure between the root and individual Telegram addresses.
The project therefore has both a product purpose and an infrastructure purpose: make Telegram identities easier to publish on the web while reducing dependence on domain names controlled by unrelated registries.
Telegram is moving beyond the boundaries of a messenger
The .gram proposal fits a broader transformation of Telegram from a communication app into a platform where identity, software, payments, AI services and publishing can increasingly coexist. A domain tied directly to a username would extend that model beyond Telegram clients and into ordinary web browsers.For creators and businesses, the attraction is obvious. Building a basic public presence could become closer to creating a Telegram account than launching a conventional website. The same identity could potentially handle communication, audience, payments and a public website without forcing the owner to assemble several independent services.
The trade-off is equally clear. Convenience increases when more infrastructure belongs to one platform, but so does dependence on that platform's rules, technical availability and account policies.
The next milestone is Reveal Day
For now, the most important event is not a .gram launch but ICANN's publication of the 2026 application list. The official ICANN process says Reveal Day will disclose the strings that passed the administrative check, the public parts of applications and any initial contention sets.If Telegram appears there with .gram, attention will shift to evaluation, possible objections, competing applications and the technical model the company intends to use. Only after those stages can the idea move from a Durov announcement toward a real top-level domain accessible from browsers worldwide.
The strategic direction is already visible, however. Telegram does not only want to host conversations inside an app. It wants a Telegram username to become an address on the wider internet itself.
Editorial Team - CoinBotLab