The ".io" domain may disappear due to geopolitical influences

ChainCatcher news, the UK government has announced the abandonment of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, transferring it to the neighboring island nation of Mauritius. Once the treaty is signed, the British Indian Ocean Territory will cease to exist. International organizations will update their records.

Previously, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) nominally assigned ".io" as the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) to the British Indian Ocean Territory. The return of the Chagos Archipelago will lead to the disappearance of the British Indian Ocean Territory, and the corresponding ISO-3166 two-letter country code IO and ".io" domain may also be revoked.

It is reported that many users and businesses view ".io" as a generic top-level domain (gTLD), rather than one specific to a particular country/region. As of 2023, approximately 1.2 million ".io" domains have been registered, a significant portion of which are associated with cryptocurrency-related companies.