Telegram has formally applied for the .gram top-level domain in ICANN's 2026 expansion round, a move Pavel Durov said could let the platform's more than 1 billion users claim addresses such as username.gram and create Telegram-hosted interactive websites with a single prompt if the bid is approved. ICANN closed submissions on Aug. 12 after receiving more than 1,600 applications, but Telegram's filing will only be independently confirmed when the organization publishes its Reveal Day applicant list, expected within about nine weeks. The proposal would extend Telegram's username system beyond messaging into a broader web identity layer controlled by the company itself. Unlike a conventional domain registered through an independent registrar, .gram would be run as a Telegram-controlled registry, meaning addresses would remain tied to Telegram accounts and policies rather than transferable ownership. That structure could reduce Telegram's reliance on external domain infrastructure after last month's disruption of its t.me links, but it would also leave users dependent on Telegram's continued operation of the namespace and subject the company to ICANN's technical, security and DNS-abuse obligations. The .gram name also revives Telegram's earlier Gram branding. Gram was the token tied to Telegram Open Network, the blockchain project abandoned in 2020 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted its $1.7 billion token sale and a federal court backed the agency. The TON blockchain continued independently, and in June its community voted with 81% support to rename Toncoin back to Gram. TON also runs TON DNS, a blockchain-based naming system that can link names to Telegram accounts or channels, making Telegram's ICANN-based .gram proposal a separate and potentially competing identity system. The application arrives as regulators scrutinize Telegram's username ecosystem. In early July, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asked how the company detects fake accounts and prevents usernames from being used for phishing, fake support scams and investment fraud. A broader rollout turning usernames into public-facing websites could intensify those concerns. The path to approval is likely to be lengthy, with technical and financial evaluation, possible objections and contracting still ahead. Telegram has not said whether .gram addresses would be free or how they would be distributed, and any launch would likely not come until late 2027 or early 2028.