At this year’s Baltic Domain Days, a panel opened with a question that instantly grabbed everyone’s attention: “Should we innovate or are we going to die?”. It wasn’t a dramatic exaggeration. Rather an honest reflection of what many in the domain industry quietly worry about: in a world ruled by apps and social media, where exactly do domain names fit in?

In 2019, the Estonian Internet Foundation introduced a true innovation to the domain sector – the .ee expiring domain auction. This system makes previously registered but unrenewed .ee domains available again, giving valuable names a second chance and offering new entrepreneurs an opportunity to secure standout domain names.

The past quarter brought strong growth and new momentum for Estonia’s top-level domain, .ee. Over 10,000 new domain names were registered, pushing the total count above 178,000 for the first time and as of November 11th, reaching 180,000. This marks a 3.94% annual growth rate - an impressive result that stands out positively against the European overall low growth.