ICANN’s 85th Public Meeting in Mumbai brought the global domain industry together just weeks before the next new gTLD application window opens in April 2026. Much of the public conversation revolved around the upcoming gTLD round, the Applicant Guidebook, and registry service providers. But for registrars, the more important signals were happening in parallel discussions across policy sessions, hallway conversations, and registry-registrar meetings.

The domain name industry has always depended on trust. Registrars manage assets that can be extremely valuable — not just financially, but operationally for businesses and organizations around the world. A single unauthorized change to a registrar account, an EPP password reset, or a registry lock modification can potentially disrupt hundreds or thousands of domain names.

The global domain name industry is entering one of its most consequential phases in recent years. With policy changes accelerating, compliance expectations tightening, and the New gTLD Program moving steadily toward the 2026 application window, ICANN85 comes at a critical moment for registrars.