Telegram's t.me domain placed on serverHold, breaking short links globally

The .me registry has set Telegram's t.me domain to a serverHold status, removing it from the global DNS. This action disables every t.me short link used for channel invites, group joins, bot URLs and other external references, causing them to resolve to nowhere worldwide. The core Telegram applications and the main website (telegram.org) continue to operate normally, and the t.me domain itself still points to Google Cloud name servers, but the registry-level hold overrides resolution.

The domain, registered through GoDaddy and managed by Identity Digital for Montenegro's .me country‑code top‑level domain, remains active until 2035, indicating the suspension is not due to expiration. No public comment has been provided by Telegram, the .me registry, GoDaddy, or Montenegrin authorities. The incident follows broader regulatory pressure on the platform and has immediate repercussions for services that embed t.me links, including many cryptocurrency projects and third‑party websites.

While existing Telegram users can still communicate, onboarding new participants via t.me links is currently impossible until the hold is lifted.