A decentralized identification network does not outright “destroy” or aggressively displace ICANN overnight; rather, it bypasses and challenges the monopoly of the traditional DNS root zone.

To understand how a specialized system like ⁠.glb ⁠interacts with ICANN and the official root servers, it helps to look at the mechanics of the current internet backbone versus a decentralized model.

1. How ICANN and the Root Zone Work Today

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the Root Zone—the absolute highest level of the Domain Name System (DNS).

 When you type a URL into a browser, your computer asks a recursive resolver to look up the extension (like ⁠.com⁠ or ⁠.org⁠).

 That resolver checks one of 13 official root server architectures coordinated by ICANN to find out which registry controls that extension.

 Because ICANN is bound by U.S. jurisdiction and intergovernmental agreements, it acts as a centralized gatekeeper. If ICANN doesn’t approve a Top-Level Domain (TLD), it cannot legally or natively exist in the official root zone files used by standard web infrastructure.

2. How a Blockchain Root Alternative Operates

A specialized identity network creates a parallel, peer-to-peer root zone. Instead of relying on ICANN’s centralized database, the ledger itself (or a specialized blockchain like Handshake) records who owns the root TLD (such as ⁠.glb⁠).  

 Displacing the Root, Not the Internet: Protocols of this nature do not replace the physical fiber-optic cables or BGP routing protocols of the internet; they replace the authority file that dictates what names map to what destinations.

 Independent Consensus: Ownership is governed by smart contracts and cryptographic keys rather than a contract with ICANN or Verisign. No corporation can be forced by a government subpoena to revoke a ⁠.glb⁠ domain because there is no central registry operator to lean on.

3. The Collision Risk and Hybrid Convergence

Because alternative namespaces operate outside of ICANN, a fundamental friction point is namespace collision. If ICANN ever decides to officially issue a ⁠.glb⁠ extension through its official gTLD application rounds, a chaotic split occurs where the Web2 root says one thing and the Web3 blockchain root says another.

To mitigate this friction, the industry is increasingly moving toward hybrid convergence rather than a hostile takeover:

 Co-existence and Bridging: Some modern Web3 naming projects actively coordinate with or apply through traditional ICANN pathways to secure official gTLD status while simultaneously mirroring ownership rights onto blockchains.  

 The Interoperable Resolver Future: Rather than waiting for ICANN to abdicate its throne—which is politically and legally impossible—decentralized networks bypass ICANN entirely by integrating custom resolvers directly into crypto wallets, modern web-3 enabled browsers, and specialized DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) providers.

A decentralized system succeeds not by forcing ICANN out of business, but by making the alternative root functional enough that users and applications choose to query the blockchain root directly for sovereign digital identities.