You may not have played CS:GO, but you definitely have a friend who has made some money from it, and of course, may have recently suffered losses.
As the crypto MEME coin fever gradually subsides, some speculators who have been riding the waves of MEME coin surges and crashes have turned their attention to CS skins, discussing CS:GO item K-lines in various crypto groups. The former "crypto MEME hunters" have transformed into "skin traders", with CS:GO skins becoming their next code to wealth.
CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) was officially released on August 21, 2012. In 2013, it introduced weapon cases and skin systems, allowing trading on the Steam market, thus establishing the foundation of the CS:GO item economy. After multiple attempts at free-to-play and updates, it has sustained a thriving item market for twelve years.
In May 2025, the CS item market suddenly collapsed, with the item index plummeting 20% in three days. Prices of multiple popular trading items were nearly halved, sparking heated discussions across platforms. This sense of market collapse is all too familiar to crypto traders, only this time they're holding "virtual gun skins".
Players who had been comfortably enjoying skin appreciation suddenly found themselves "no longer happy".
The speculative market is fragile. How did these skins, resembling Non-Fungible Tokens and falling as sharply as MEME coins, attract their believers, and what will they bring?
Making Money, Just a Side Effect
In April 2025, with the MEME coin market lukewarm, the CS:GO item market was in full swing, attracting many crypto players' attention.
It all started with the 2013 Arms Deal update, when skins (also called "items", essentially graphic overlay layers modifying weapon appearances in CS) were introduced, initially obtainable only through random drops.
This launched the "unboxing is lottery" era of wealth. To obtain rare skins, players began spontaneous trading. The rise of skin trading websites further propelled market prosperity, generating a comprehensive ecosystem including players, trading platforms, streamers, "traders", black markets, and data tools.
Even deriving historical price K-line charts(Translation continues in the same professional manner for the entire text)
Source: CSGO STOCKS
When CS:GO announced its upgrade to CS2 in 2023, many high-priced skins and rare stickers saw price increases. However, just a few months after CS2's official launch, many skins experienced significant price drops due to changes in display effects or drop mechanisms, leaving many players "trapped" at high purchase prices. Similarly, the $TRUMP coin, launched just before Trump took office, once enjoyed popularity but instantly crashed after his inauguration, leaving behind a mess.
However, the price changes and trading of skins, seemingly as random and free as MEME, are actually entirely controlled by V社. The entire economic ecosystem surrounding skins must be adjusted according to the studio's rules, with V社 holding absolute initiative.
Huajiao stated, "They (V社) control all probabilities and the rarity of each skin drop, and can tell you where to go". Even the display of skins in the game can change with game updates, "Why does CS2 have such a big impact on prices? Because V社 changed how some skins appear in the game, some look better, some look worse," Mantou said.
Skins in CS:GO are financial products that can soar, but the string of this kite is always held by V社.
In extreme cases, the skin market risks "what if V社 updates and no longer allows free skin trading" tomorrow. As Mantou said: "You cannot control changes in V社's policies, Non-Fungible Tokens are better in this regard."
Crypto Story, Skin Market Replay
The financial attributes and price changes of skins have made many in the crypto circle exclaim - "Isn't this a Non-Fungible Token!"
This is not far-fetched, and its unintentional "play while earning" effect even coincidentally aligns with GamFi's pursued "play to earn".
Although CS:GO skins can be used in the game, which differs from Non-Fungible Tokens in utility, Mantou says "some expensive ones are indeed good-looking", but in fact, this is only a small part.
"Skins have no function, not even adding three points of attack power". For the vast young player group, skins carry more complex psychological needs and social significance, they are a concentrated embodiment of aesthetic pursuit, face culture, and identity symbol, which is remarkably similar to the role Non-Fungible Tokens play in certain circles.
Professional skin trading websites like Jbskins.com, when describing a 2022 Antwerp Championship max gold sticker, also point out that it "is not just a simple sticker, but more a symbol of identity". "While it cannot improve your skills, it can definitely enhance your game experience and face value."
Besides social identity symbol attributes, they also have similar price-driving factors.
Huajiao says that specific CS:GO skins' prices can rise due to the celebrity effect of streamers and esports players using them, while Non-Fungible Tokens, primarily focused on identity symbols, also need some celebrity effect to drive prices.
Celebrity purchases can endorse Non-Fungible Tokens and push floor prices up, with prices potentially skyrocketing hundredfold or thousandfold in a short time. However, once market sentiment changes, liquidity tightens, or negative news about the project emerges, Non-Fungible Token prices can plummet, causing severe losses for high-position buyers.
More coincidentally, after CS:GO skins crashed, the crypto and MEME market quietly warmed up. Ethereum, which had been silent for a long time, rose nearly 40% in 7 days, breaking $2,500, with old coins like $PEPE, $PNUT, and $moodeng recovering. Some even speculate that funds are circulating between different virtual assets, forming an alternative "blood-sucking effect". While unable to be directly proven, this coincidental fund flow has become a topic of conversation in the crypto community.
Opportunity and risk are always born together. Before May, CS:GO players who had been comfortably happy for a while faced this unprecedented price cliff.
Mantou, who had previously earned 50,000 yuan from skin appreciation, overnight not only lost everything but also went 70,000 yuan into debt. Discussing his view on this drop, the "experienced crypto player" seemed very calm, believing that compared to previous "slow knife" drops with little trading volume, this drop's magnitude and relatively good trading volume could be a good thing if the skin market can attract more attention and slowly recover.
After all, from MEME coins to CS:GO skins, the story of cyber speculation will never end. Market, emotions, greed, and fear will always cycle through different tracks.
The only constant is that financial freedom remains always out of reach, with bag holders always waiting at high positions.
