MiCA Regulations Cause 80% of Crypto Media Sites to Lose Traffic in Europe

In the first quarter of 2025, the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations in Europe led to a significant decline in traffic for crypto media sites. According to a detailed report, over 80% of crypto-native media outlets in the region experienced a drop in traffic. The regulations, primarily targeting crypto service providers, inadvertently affected media outlets, particularly those running sponsored posts, affiliate links, or any promotional content without the necessary disclaimers.

In January, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a warning that even editorial content must be free of investment talk unless the outlets have the appropriate licenses. This directive prompted Google to bury pages that lacked proper disclaimers or jurisdiction tags, exacerbating the traffic loss for many crypto media sites. The impact was not limited to sites within the EU; those outside the EU but targeting European audiences in languages such as German, French, Dutch, or Spanish also faced significant traffic drops. Geopolitical tensions and the broader crypto market downturn further compounded the challenges faced by these outlets.

Germany, which had 34 crypto-native media outlets, saw a dramatic decline. By February, 21 of these outlets were down, with some experiencing traffic losses of over 50%. Regulatory warnings from BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, about unlicensed promotional content added to the pressure. However, a few sites managed to rebound by adding disclaimers and legal fine print. BitcoinBlog.de, for instance, saw a 47.4% increase in March. Krypto News and Kryptozeitung also posted small rebounds, while others continued to struggle. The few winners, such as CryptoMonday, Blockzeit, CoinJournal DE, and Crypto Valley Journal, benefited from stronger legal tagging and multilingual coverage. In total, only 9 German-language sites recorded any growth during the quarter.

CoinJournal DE, owned by Investoo Group, a UK firm with a portfolio of multilingual crypto sites optimized for SEO and local compliance, held steady during the crackdown. The combined traffic and shared legal infrastructure of Investoo's sites helped them maintain their position. Other former Investoo brands, like Kryptoszene.de, which had pivoted to niche German-first content after becoming independent, also saw growth. Blockchain Stories DE and Block-Builders.de were among the few outlets that grew across the quarter.

In France, which had 25 crypto-dedicated media outlets at the start of Q1, most experienced significant traffic losses. The Blog lost nearly 72%, while Coinhouse, CryptoNews France, and Conseils Crypto each lost around 40%. Cointelegraph France, despite being tied to Frekaz Group, which also owns Cointribune, underperformed. Cointribune, structured as a hybrid VC-media startup, held up better but was not immune to search penalties. Franchise models, like Cointelegraph’s French edition, struggled more due to limited backend access and lower investment in SEO. By March, a few outlets, including Stelareum, Blockchain France, and InvestX, showed signs of recovery, with some even posting gains. In total, only four French outlets finished the quarter with stable growth, all of which leaned on compliance tools, clear risk language, and wider language support.

The Netherlands and Belgium, which did not pass new crypto media laws, were not spared from the impact of Google's algorithm changes. Dutch-speaking outlets took heavy hits in February, with over 76% losing traffic. Bitcoinexchangenederland.nl was particularly hard hit, down 92.96%. Bitcoin Koers and Crypto Insiders also experienced significant drops. In Spain and Italy, the impact was similar. Spanish outlets were hit by late 2024 ad rules from CNMV, with 70% experiencing traffic losses. CriptoPasion dropped nearly 47%, while Cointelegraph ES and BeInCrypto’s Spanish edition both lost around 20%. Bit2Me News was the outlier, up 149.40% after a spike in March. In Italy, 70% of crypto media lost ground, with The Cryptonomist and Cointelegraph Italy both experiencing significant drops. Only Borsainside grew, despite CONSOB’s early 2025 advisories.

The UK, which was not part of MiCA, also faced challenges due to the FCA's enforcement of its own crypto ad rules in January. Five UK-facing crypto outlets were tracked, with The Market Periodical and MyCryptoSpaceUK posting small gains. Bitcourier and Cryptouk.io failed to recover, while The Crypto Adviser surged in March but still couldn't hit 4K visits. By the end of Q1, 81.61% of crypto-native publishers in Europe were down, with a 16.37% drop in traffic from January to March. Only 16 outlets gained any traction, and just half of those had steady growth month to month.

Traffic across Europe was concentrated in a handful of sites, with BTC Echo, Crypto Insiders, Cointribune, Bitcoin Magazine, Cointelegraph ES, and Newsbit’s Dutch and German versions having over 1M monthly visits. These sites made up 60% of all crypto media traffic. Lower-tier sites, those under 100K visits, added up to just 6.24% of the region’s traffic. Mid-level outlets filled in the rest. Germany and France led the region in audience, while Italy and the UK underperformed. Belgium split between Dutch and English sites, and Portugal had zero crypto-native publications.

Meanwhile, mainstream financial sites outperformed crypto media. Of 46 broader media outlets, 25 gained traffic. Sites like Investing.com and Finanzen.net got over 100M visits combined. In Germany, 24% of top-performing generalist outlets were based locally. Italy’s big players, like FinanzaOnline, brought in millions. Spain’s finance media also held up. Only 32% of those mainstream finance outlets were consistently in Google Discover, with sites like boursier.com, finanzen.at, and es.investing.com being regulars. Nine of those broke 1M visits.