Reasons why Cryptocurrency news site CCN was shut down

Cryptocurrency news site CCN.com is shutting down after experiencing a 71% fall in mobile traffic due to a recent update to Google’s search rankings. Founder Jonas Borchgrevink posted the news on his site saying:

CCN was founded in the summer of 2013 as CryptoCoinsNews. We have been around for six years. We are (were?) the crypto-related news site with the highest amount of traffic worldwide. Although CoinDesk and CoinTelegraph have been friendly competitors with us the past six years for the #1 Alexa spot.

The site began its life as a cryptocurrency-focused news source and, as evidenced by internal charts posted by Borchgrevink, enjoyed high traffic and solid organic search activity. This all came crashing down after what Google called its June 2019 Core Update, an update that Google claimed was “designed to improve our results.”

“Most have little noticeable change but help us continue to incrementally improve search,” wrote Google’s SearchLiaison on October 11, 2018.

The update apparently also dinged sites like the Daily Mail, leading Borchgrevink and others to speculate that CCN’s conservative posts led to the reduction in search activity.

Borchgrevink wrote:

While CCN is unbiased as a news site – meaning no political agenda from the editorial board – we have allowed all sorts of opinions from journalists and guest writers. From the far left to the far right. Many of our political Op-Eds have been “Pro-Trump.” Remember: We are mainly a crypto centered news site. Cryptocurrencies started with Bitcoin in 2009 as a counteraction against the financial meltdown and the cartel-like power possessed by banks and The FED (which is privately owned). Bitcoin is, or at least was supposed to be, DECENTRALIZED. We are true to the crypto community with our slogan: We Are Anti-Elite, We Are Anti-Centralization.

We have reached out to Borchgrevink for further comment.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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