Cointelegraph was one of the most important publications in the industry, and it took a hit in 2025, following algorithm updates that penalized low-quality crypto media.
What actually happened to Cointelegraph?
The publication’s Google visibility collapsed in July-August 2025 after Google made updates to its algorithm, penalizing crypto media due to low-quality or spammy content.
A few months ago, FXStreet’s Co-CEO, Pere Monguio Montells, analyzed Cointelegraph’s Google ban in a recent post online.
Is Google shadow-banning crypto?
The first point that Montells made in his post was that Google did not start to shadow-ban crypto, as some people might have thought.
On the other hand, the giant search engine made changes to its algorithm in 2025. This, along with other factors, including geopolitical and regulatory pressures, led to the fact that crypto media faced a reckoning globally, as we revealed in August 2025, citing data from Outset PR.
FXStreet’s SEO team found multiple issues regarding Cointelegraph, while the publication was rather silent on the issue.
Montells wrote that the team’s analysis was based on data from Ahrefs, WaybackMachine snapshot database, SimilarWeb, and Google sources.
Cointelegraph’s downfall timeline
The 2025 timeline of Cointelegraph’s problems is as follows:
- June – The publication launched casino/crypto-betting directories, which, from a business revenue perspective, led to expansion in a high-traffic and high-commission niche.
- June-September – The sections were filled with low-quality content linking to unpopular gambling sites, some with 0 domain authority; traffic surged and peaked at 3.8 million organic visits in September, making the business look like a win.
- September – Google rolled out its spam update, which targeted scaled content and site reputation abuse; the engine’s rule was not to leverage established authority to push low-quality or commercial content that is not genuinely part of the editorial purpose.
- October – Cointelegraph’s visibility and organic traffic collapsed, leading to Google blocking the entire domain, including branded searches, and signaling a manual penalty, not just a routine algorithmic adjustment.
Cointelegraph’s ranking in Google’s top positions in 2025 changed drastically after peaking in June with strong SEO visibility and more articles ranking.
After that, a radical decline debuted for the publication, leading to a major collapse by the end of the year, with organic visibility gone.
The aftermath
Montells pointed out that behind the scenes, Cointelegraph’s cleanup began, and the casino/crypto betting/igaming directories were wiped and redirected to the homepage.
He stated that the event should serve as a reminder for the entire media industry that Google is not messing around, and if business models depend on Google, they should play by its rules.
As of March 5, Cointelegraph’s search on Google leads to CoinDesk as the first result, followed by Apple and Google Play’s Cointelegraph app for download, and Telegram, X, and YouTube channels for the business. The official website still seems to be banned.
What can Cointelegraph’s fall teach us?
Cointelegraph’s downfall marks an important moment in the crypto media, as it was one of the most popular publications in the industry.
However, its decision to include spammy content, including betting, casino links, and igaming for the sake of increased visibility and more revenue, hurt the project.
Crypto media platforms should stay true to their core focus of delivering high-quality content for readers that actually helps people better understand Web3 and its meaning.
Promoting global adoption is not made via spammy content, especially content that can lead to harmful behavior, regardless of the potential revenue growth.
Let’s hope that the crypto media can adapt to Google’s requirements to be able to stay alive and safely promote the Web3 industry.
