Counter-Strike skins economy braces for market flood

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 28/10/2025

The Counter-Strike skins economy is braced for a Thursday that may be decisive for the future picture of the skins market.

October 30 represents seven days since the update that added the ability for players to update Covert skins for knives and gloves.

The update crashed the skins economy, wiping $2 bn off the market cap as players’ rare items became devalued.

However, the skins economy could be shaken again as newly crafted items are expected to flood the market.

Why is October 30th important for the Counter-Strike skins economy?

Counter-Strike skins are subject to a seven-day trade hold, which prevents them from being sold within seven days of being created or traded.

As a result, the majority skins that were created during the initial trade-ups of Covert items for knives and gloves will be removed from the seven-day trade hold on Thursday.

To be precise, any knives and gloves created from skins that were not themselves under trade hold were instantly marketable.

The knives and gloves, which were created from recently traded skins, which themselves were under trade hold, will be tradeable from October 30.

Last week saw thousands of Covert grade skins, also known as Reds, be traded as players raced to create their desired knives and gloves.

As such, there is an expectation that large numbers of newly created rare items will flood the market.

Moving forward, the day may give players a picture of how rare their items will actually be, following frantic speculation upon the release of last week’s update.

There is no certainty in the Counter-Strike skins market

Ultimately, it is up to each individual player’s discretion whether or not to sell their skins.

The effect the skins will have on the market is not yet known.

Logically, the rise in supply could theoretically lower the cost of knives and gloves further.

As much of the pre-crash market cap relied on extremely rare items, there is anxiety that the market could recede further.

However, players have been aware that the date is coming, and the potential effect of flooding the market with new knives and gloves.

As such, it’s possible that the market has already compensated for the upcoming addition.

Players who have money set aside are likely to be viewing the date as an opportunity to get a cheap knife or gloves, driving up demand.

Overall, nothing is certain in the skins economy, as recent events have highlighted. The highly volatile space has punished those who believed it was a rational space before.

Additionally, the recent changes to the skins market have revealed the unspoken truth of the Counter-Strike skins economy – that Valve can change it at any time.

Ultimately, the real-money value of skins is up to the discretion of Valve’s aims, which may not align with the market.

Darragh Harbinson, Senior Editor

Darragh Harbinson is an esports writer specialising in Counter-Strike. He has written for Esports News UK, Esports Insider, UKCSGO, Dexerto, and Rush B Media.

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