Cointelegraph Denies Seeking Buyer, Slams CoinDesk Over Report

Cointelegraph has denied a CoinDesk report claiming the crypto media company is seeking a buyer, calling the report inaccurate and accusing its rival of presenting speculation as fact. CoinDesk had previously reported that Cointelegraph was shopping for a buyer following a sharp decline in web traffic.

Cointelegraph slams CoinDesk over misleading reporting

Crypto media giant Cointelegraph took to X to deny CoinDesk’s claim that it was shopping for a buyer. The CoinDesk report, published on October 7, cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter and did not disclose a potential sale price.

Cointelegraph pushed back publicly on Oct. 8, stating that it is “not for sale” and that the CoinDesk report was based on false information and contained multiple factual errors. The media company called on CoinDesk to correct the story and give the correction prominence comparable to the original report.“Correct the record, clearly acknowledge the errors, and give the correction the same visibility you gave the original claims. Do not quietly change the wording and pretend the original reporting was sound,” wrote Cointelegraph.

Cointelegraph said it welcomes scrutiny but objected to what it described as speculation being presented as established fact. The company also criticized what it called attempts to generate controversy for clicks, commercial activity or audience growth.

“Whatever commercial pressures you face, they are not an excuse to mislead your audience. Your readers deserve journalism, not manufactured drama designed to generate a few more clicks.”

CoinDesk’s original report attributed the information to a source familiar with the matter and linked the alleged sale process to a major deterioration in Cointelegraph’s web traffic.

Traffic decline at center of dispute

The reported buyer search comes against the backdrop of significant traffic challenges for crypto media outlets.

Industry data indicated that traffic across 349 crypto media outlets fell about 33% during 2025. Ahrefs data revealed a massive drop in Cointelegraph’s organic search traffic, with numbers plummeting by over 80%.

The decline is linked to an algorithmic enforcement by Google, with experts saying Cointelegraph was likely penalized due to Google’s spam and site reputation guidelines. This led to drastically reduced visibility for Cointelegraph in Google search results, with some users not even being able to find the site on Google despite specifically searching for it.

Meanwhile, Cointelegraph has faced other operational challenges, including a June 2025 security incident involving a fraudulent CTG token promotion. Despite its search traffic hurdles, Cointelegraph remains an industry heavyweight and one of the most recognized brands in Web3.