The .COM top-level domain has reached a new milestone, surpassing 160 million registered domain names for the first time. The figures were published by VeriSign, the official registry operator for .COM, known for reporting exact numbers rather than symbolic estimates.
According to the data, the zone currently contains 162,479,075 registered domains, of which 160,009,277 are active. The latter figure represents domains with configured name servers, meaning they are technically operational rather than simply reserved entries in the registry.
From the First Registration to Global Scale
The first .COM domains appeared in 1985, with symbolics.com registered on March 15 of that year. At the time, domain registration was a niche technical procedure, and the idea of hundreds of millions of names under a single zone would have sounded overly optimistic, if not entirely unrealistic.
Over the decades, .COM has evolved from a small experimental namespace into the most recognizable domain zone worldwide, where short names are scarce and longer ones often reflect creative compromise.
Recovery After a Period of Decline
The previous milestone of 150 million registered domains was reached on January 13, 2021. In the years that followed, growth slowed as higher prices and revenue-focused registrar strategies weighed on new registrations.
Recent quarterly results, however, suggest that the downturn has passed. Registration numbers are rising again, albeit steadily rather than dramatically. Against this backdrop, the record-breaking sale of the domain AI.com has drawn attention as a possible indicator of renewed interest and long-term value in the .COM zone. The domain market’s most established player appears to be back on a path of gradual expansion.