[toyg]

> Because ccTLDs follow a different standard

They will just move .io from ccTLD to gTLD, with the UK government's blessing. Everyone realizes there is no point in stopping the money from flowing.

[noirscape]

They probably won't, the 2 character space is reserved for ccTLDs by their existing policies.

Only 3 characters and up can be gTLDs.

[chatmasta]

It’s insane that anyone thinks ICANN will deprecate one of the most popular TLDs. There is no incentive by anyone for this to happen.

[toyg]

If the money is good enough, they will make a "grandfathered" exception.

Modern ICANN is not about policies for policies' sake.