Cointelegraph seeks buyer after Google penalty wipes out most web traffic
Cointelegraph is looking for a buyer
Cryptocurrency media company Cointelegraph is shopping itself for a buyer, according to a person familiar with the matter. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process is private.
Cointelegraph, founded in 2013, has more than 200 employees. It was last acquired in July 2022 by Luna Media Corporation to help fund its global expansion.
Google penalty erased most of its audience
The main reason for the sale appears to be a severe drop in website traffic. In October 2025, Google issued a manual penalty against Cointelegraph, causing the site to disappear from Google search results. The outlet lost about 80% of its organic traffic after the penalty.
Before the penalty, Cointelegraph's website received more than 12 million monthly visits in December 2024, according to Similarweb data. By September 1, 2026, that number had fallen to just over 700,000 monthly visits.
The site had already faced problems earlier. In June 2025, Cointelegraph's website was hit by a front-end exploit that allowed fake phishing pop-ups to appear on the site.
A quiet crypto market hurt readership too
Another factor may be the broader state of the crypto market. A prolonged period of flat cryptocurrency prices led many users to shift their attention away from crypto news. This trend has affected several digital asset newsrooms, not just Cointelegraph.
What we know for sure
Cointelegraph is actively seeking a buyer. The selling price has not been made public. Google's October 2025 manual penalty is confirmed as the primary cause of an 80% drop in organic traffic. Traffic fell from over 12 million monthly visits to roughly 700,000. The company was previously bought by Luna Media Corporation in July 2022. Cointelegraph did not respond to requests for comment.
Why this matters for crypto media
Cointelegraph has been one of the largest cryptocurrency news outlets since its founding in 2013. Its struggles show how dependent crypto media companies are on search engine traffic and why a single Google penalty can threaten a business. The ongoing flat crypto market adds to the pressure on newsrooms that rely on user attention for advertising revenue.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.