Counter-Strike skins market tanks overnight after controversial knife Trade Up update

The Counter-Strike skins market crashed overnight by almost $2 billion USD after Valve introduced the ability to trade items for knives and gloves.

The details:

• With the latest update to Counter-Strike 2, players can now trade five Covert skins from a collection for a knife or gloves, with the same offer available for StatTrak items. Previously, players were only able to acquire knives and gloves via in-game cases with odds of just 1 in 385 or by purchasing an item via the Steam marketplace, which could cost thousands depending on the rarity, condition, and more.
• Unsurprisingly, the update has caused the prices of knives and gloves to plummet, as these highly valuable items are now much easier to acquire. According to PriceEmpire on X, the market’s value declined from a peak of $6.06bn to $4.27bn in just one night.
• However, with the Trade Up system now offering knives and gloves in exchange for skins that were previously worth very little, the value of Covert skins has skyrocketed. Some players have now discovered that their inventories are worth significantly more than before the update, with skins selling for ten times the amount as the community tries to secure items from certain collections.
• While a number of traders have criticized the unexpected change, others have applauded Valve’s decision to shift the market. Skins have become a vital part of Counter-Strike since their introduction in 2013, but they have also been used in illegal gambling, such as esports match fixing and unregulated casinos, as well as "pump and dump" schemes common in cryptocurrency trading.