Introduced | 25 November 2013 |
---|---|
TLD type | Generic top-level domain |
Status | Active |
Registry | Dot Kiwi Ltd. (operated by Canadian Internet Registration Authority) |
Sponsor | Dot Kiwi Limited |
Intended use | Entities connected with New Zealand |
Actual use | unknown |
DNSSEC | Yes |
Registry website | https://hello.kiwi/ |
.kiwi is an Internet generic top-level domain with emphasis on New Zealand. It employs the colloquial term kiwi, used to refer to New Zealanders.[1] It is the first, and presently only, New Zealand-specific top level domain name approved by ICANN.[1]
As of January 2024[update] there are just under 11,000 registered .kiwi domains, connected to 8,633 active websites.[2]
Dot Kiwi Limited reportedly spent a "seven-figure" sum securing the new top level domain from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).[3]
The domain launched with a 'landrush' period in March 2014 after two years of planning.[4]
In May 2014, shortly after launch, 4,600 .kiwi domains had been activated.[5] As at the first anniversary on 1 May 2015, 12,000 .kiwi domains had been registered. Dot Kiwi Limited claimed that this meant .kiwi was in the top 25 per cent of new domains released by ICANN.[6]
The .kiwi top level domain is not to be confused with .kiwi.nz, which launched as a new option under the .nz top level domain in August 2012.[7]
The technical backend is provided by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority's Fury product.[8]
As of 6 December 2016.[9]