According to PANews, the United Kingdom has announced the transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. This decision poses a significant risk to the continued existence of the widely-used .io domain, which has been popular in the tech and gaming industries. The Chagos Islands have been jointly managed by the UK and the United States since 1968, but Mauritius has long contested this arrangement, asserting its sovereignty over the territory.
The transfer of sovereignty will lead to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) removing the 'IO' country code associated with the Chagos Islands. Consequently, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) will cease new registrations of .io domains and gradually phase out existing ones. This development could have substantial implications for numerous companies and projects that rely on .io domains, particularly within the cryptocurrency sector.
