Every domain is paid. But if you bought it from an authorized reseller who's authorization is revoked, you're still screwed. Mali is the true owner of all registered domains in its country.
Wait, this can't be, because the current line is that .ml doesn't stand for "marxist-leninist" as they claimed 2y ago, instead now in a post by desantis or desalinator (whatever his name is) it says they chose .ml because it was "free" and "buying them [domains] feels like acquiescing to the digital enclosure of the commons."
Believe this is cached copies held by your local instance. When federation drops you can still see comments proliferate between anyone federated with you also on the outside, just like with beehaw.
Not an expert so I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong.