The .IO ccTLD extension could possibly be “phased out” if sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is moved to Mauritius. My feeling is that it is highly unlikely the .IO extension will be removed given the number of businesses using .IO domain names. There is still a chance it could happen, and businesses would be forced to change domain names and possibly rebrand if the extension is terminated.
With that potential risk in mind, I was curious to know if industry colleagues are broaching this topic with clients who are interested in buying .IO domain names. I reached out to a small group of people whose companies advise on domain name deals and broker the sale of valuable domain names to ask the following:
