Over 100 Global Industry Leaders Gather in Hong Kong! 2026 Domain World Conference Successfully Held

On October 26, 2026, the "2026 Domain World Conference"—hosted by the Domain World Conference and co-hosted by DN.com—was successfully held in Hong Kong, China.

Serving as a successor to the World Domain Conference held a decade prior, this event—themed "Encountering a New Era of Domains: The Convergent Evolution of AI, Web3, and Digital Brand Assets"—took place at the CAI Building. It functioned as a premier industry gathering designed to connect global, high-quality domain resources, provide insights into cutting-edge industry trends, and effectively facilitate cross-regional business collaborations.

The event featured a lineup of prominent industry figures, including Cai Wensheng, a benchmark leader in the domain sector; Richard Lau, founder of Logo.com; Jack Dai, founder of DN.com; Pang Ke, Vice President of ZDNS; the CEO of Juming Technology; Tao Yiqiu, a director at Dynadot; Lu Meng, CEO of 88mi.com; Yang Jun, CEO of Kenpai Technology; Song Yingqiao, founder of WeCAN Cloud; Alma, founder of TECHUB NEWS; and Heatherm Huang, a seasoned cross-border domain investor.

Three Key Themes: Gaining Insights into the Future of the Industry

The conference kicked off in the morning with opening remarks from Jack, CEO of DN.com, setting the stage for a full day of intellectual exchange.

Following this, the highly anticipated "special mystery guest"—Cai Wensheng—took the stage. He cut straight to the core of the matter: as AI agents increasingly permeate commercial environments, every such agent, vertical-specific model, and automated service requires a professional, trustworthy, and memorable domain name to establish its own digital identity.

When it comes to bringing such assets to the global stage, Hong Kong serves as an irreplaceable strategic hub. "Hong Kong is the premier hub for connecting China with the rest of the world—both for conducting business and for trading domain names," Cai emphasized.

He also offered a piece of advice to industry professionals: domain name investment must align with the cycles of the times, urging them to secure their positions early amidst the new wave of AI and new top-level domains (TLDs).

Next, Richard Lau, founder of logo.com, shifted the focus to the perspective of entrepreneurs. He believes that AI is lowering the barrier to entry for software and content ventures to an all-time low. When an individual can generate an application, an AI agent, or a brand simply by using natural language, registering a dedicated domain name becomes the most logical first step.

Richard Lau noted that the massive influx of new entities—driven by AI—will further amplify the scarcity of high-quality domain names.

Jack, CEO of DN.com, offered a set of key insights from the perspectives of the market and capital.

He emphasized that the exceptionally high valuations of AI companies are reshaping the end-user domain market. With the reopening of the application window for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), competition for popular suffixes has intensified significantly; bidding costs and operational investments are expected to far exceed those seen in the previous round. The industry must shift its focus from "domain speculation" to "domain operation."

Furthermore, Jack announced that DN.com, in collaboration with its ecosystem partners, has launched a $30 million domain fund. This fund will focus on the systematic investment in and incubation of AI-related domain names, brand-semantic assets, and projects centered on global digital identities.

Pang Ke, Vice President of ZDNS, shifts the focus back to the "application layer." She posits a core argument: AI is not a replacement for domain names; rather, it acts as an amplifier for the certainty of demand for them.

As Pang Ke summarizes, when every AI application, every generative website, and every specialized AI agent requires a definitive digital entry point, the certainty of the demand for domain names becomes clear.

This certainty is set to drive a structural surge in growth across specific segments—such as brand-related domain names, industry-specific semantic domains, and AI-dedicated domain suffixes.

Roundtable Debates: Industry Leaders Convene to Explore the Logic Behind a Sector-Wide Shift

Across five intensive roundtable sessions, key figures from various fields confront critical industry pain points and share cutting-edge insights:

Roundtable 1: The Wave of 1,615 New gTLD Applications—Opportunities, Bubbles, and Risks

Moderated by Eric Yang, this session focused on the latest round of generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) applications. Participants noted that the resurgence of new gTLDs represents a liberation of brand autonomy, yet cautioned that the 1,615 applications may harbor a speculative bubble.

The consensus: Applicants must possess robust operational capabilities and a strong commitment to compliance; the industry should shift its focus from "cybersquatting" (opportunistic registration) toward the long-term, collaborative development of an ecosystem.

Roundtable 2: The Path to Co-developing New Top-Level Domains (TLDs) in the Age of AI

Yang Jun and industry representatives explore this topic. In an AI-driven landscape, registries and registrars must achieve technical synergy to provide intelligent domain resolution and brand protection. The consensus is clear: only by jointly building a new TLD ecosystem can we meet future demands for digital identity and mitigate the risks associated with establishing rights across borders.

Roundtable 3: The New Landscape of Global Domain Brokerage—Synergistic Competition Between Platforms and Boutique Firms, and Risk Management in Cross-Border Transactions

Heatherm engaged in discussions with several prominent brokerage leaders. The consensus: the relationship between platform-based brokerages and boutique firms is shifting from a "scramble for deals" toward "layered collaboration." In cross-border transactions, the primary challenge is no longer an information asymmetry, but rather the establishment of escrow-based trust, adherence to compliance pathways, and the resolution of disputes. The industry must redefine its standards for cross-border risk management.

Roundtable 4: Navigating Change — New Growth Pathways for Domain Brokerage Platforms

Tianna and her guests explore how platforms can break through current limitations. In the face of shifts driven by AI and Web3, brokerage platforms must evolve from mere "intermediaries" into "asset service providers." By offering comprehensive services—such as valuation, staking, and on-chain mapping—they can forge new paths to overcome industry growth bottlenecks.

Roundtable 5: Investment Logic for Domain Names in a New Era—Opportunities, Valuation, and Portfolio Strategy

Investors and brokers gathered to discuss how the rise of AI is driving demand for domain names. Factors such as AI discoverability and on-chain verifiability are now being integrated into valuation models; traditional traffic-based valuation has become obsolete, with liquidity, semantic weight, and brand alignment emerging as the core drivers of value.

The consensus reached at the roundtable is that the domain name market is not merely experiencing a simple recovery; rather, its underlying logic has shifted, and it is evolving into a foundational coordinate for digital asset sovereignty.

The evening’s "exclusive VIP closed-door dinner" got underway, bringing together global professionals to deepen collaboration at the intersection of crypto and AI—with many potential partnerships emerging organically through informal conversation.

As a highly influential global event for the domain name industry in 2026, this conference—anchored in Hong Kong with a reach spanning the globe—has successfully forged a comprehensive communication chain across the entire industry ecosystem. This includes international registries, leading domestic platforms, cross-border brokers, institutional funds, and end-user enterprises.

The conference has effectively fostered deep integration between the Chinese and international domain name sectors, accelerating the adoption of new domain extensions, enhancing compliance in cross-border transactions, and advancing the institutionalization, securitization (via funds), and global allocation of domain assets. In doing so, it has provided fresh momentum for the industry’s development toward greater standardization, professionalism, and internationalization.

With this, the 2026 World Domain Conference concludes successfully—yet the next "golden cycle" for the domain industry is only just beginning. Embrace the new era of domains—see you at the next stop!