History of Technology: ".de" is turning 40: Germany's digital address in transition
Almost two million euros were paid for "shopping.de", today there are more than 18 million .de domains. But apps and AI are changing how we use addresses online.
The ".de" domain, Germany's country code top-level domain, is celebrating its 40th anniversary on November 5. The domain has grown to over 18 million registered domains, making it one of the largest country code top-level domains globally. The DENIC eG, a cooperative organization, has been managing the domain since 1996 and handles around 3.5 billion nameservice requests daily.
The domain market has seen high prices for short and memorable names, with "ferienhaus.de" selling for 357,000 euros in 2025. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has received 1,615 applications for new generic top-level domains, including ".agent", ".api", and ".taylorswift".
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
