63% of Crypto-Native Media Outlets in Eastern Europe Lost Traffic in Q2: Outset Report

The cryptocurrency landscape is evolving, and this includes media outlets in the industry. In a recent report by Outset PR, 63% of crypto-native media outlets in Eastern Europe lost traffic despite growing crypto adoption in the region.

In its research, Outset selected media outlets based on the following criteria:

• Active crypto coverage during Q2 2025

• Desktop + mobile traffic data available for April–June

• Eastern European countries among top audience locations

This produced a final sample of 155 outlets, segmented into:

• 114 crypto-native news portals

• 43 generalists or finance/tech media with recurring crypto coverage

Furthermore, Outset segmented media by traffic tier, source composition, and geographic footprint to understand how visibility and referral pathways evolved during the quarter.

The countries included in this analysis are: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Here are the findings from the research;

Crypto-native Publishers in Decline — But Loyalty Persisted

According to the report, total crypto-native traffic declined by 18.3%, with no month showing recovery. 63.1% of outlets lost traffic, echoing broader patterns seen in Latin America and Western Europe.

Despite overall contraction, user loyalty remained steady, with 45.2% of traffic still coming from direct sources.

The report added that a small group of breakout publishers stood out by combining strong absolute gains with consistent momentum. Their growth signals emerging influence even amid general decline.

17 Outlets Accounted for 80% of All Crypto-native Traffic

Outset added that only 17 outlets drove 80.7% of all crypto-native traffic, signaling heavy consolidation. Russia (42.9%) and Poland (38.8%) accounted for over 80% of the total crypto-native readership. Meanwhile, Bulgaria and Hungary maintained mid-tier traction, and smaller markets like Greece, Croatia, and Moldova showed minimal reach.

Generalist Media Also in Decline

The report pointed out that generalist media drew 894.5M visits, more than 45x crypto-native media’s total. Despite their scale, 62.5% also experienced traffic loss in Q2, matching the erosion seen in the crypto-native space.

In addition to that, crypto-native and generalist outlets showed similar levels of direct, social, and paid traffic, but key differences emerged in how audiences discovered their content.

Crypto-native platforms leaned more heavily on direct and organic discovery, with 87.7% of all visits coming from these two channels, a sign of stronger community retention and topic-specific search interest.

Outset added that generalist media outperformed in referral traffic, with 15.7% of their visits driven by third-party platforms, syndication, and aggregators, more than double the crypto-native share (6.6%).

AI Discovery is Changing the Game

The report pointed out that GenAI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity drove 135.18K visits (0.65%) to crypto-native media. For generalists, the absolute number was higher: 566.60K visits, though still only 0.06% of total traffic.

For this reason, 20.6% of crypto-native outlets and 41.8% of generalist outlets had GenAI tools appear as referral sources.

In its anonymous survey, Outset PR revealed that many respondents in the media sector shared how regulatory complexity and enforcement risks are shaping editorial decisions and visibility outcomes in their countries.

Outset’s report offers a data-driven foundation for informed decision-making.

• Media clarity: Understand which outlets still hold visibility and which are in decline.

• Audience insight: Identify how crypto users across Eastern Europe are discovering content in 2025.

• Platform trends: Analyze the real role of GenAI, direct visits, aggregators, and social platforms in driving traffic.

• Regulatory awareness: See how MiCA, local frameworks (UOKiK, KNF, HMA), and algorithmic shifts are impacting editorial choices.

• Market relevance: Discover what fragmentation, loyalty, and AI-driven behavior signal about Eastern Europe’s crypto media ecosystem.

Click here to read the full report.