On the night of October 4th to 5th, Valve banned the Steam account of a trader of valuable skins in Counter-Strike 2 . According to a website, the ban affects the third most valuable account in Counter-Strike 2, with an inventory of skins worth 1.38 million euros.
What kind of ban is this?
- The account St4ck received a “community ban” on October 5th at 12:37 AM.
- This means that the trader can no longer trade the items from his inventory. They are essentially worthless as long as the account is banned.
- It’s somewhat like freezing people’s accounts.
This news spread very quickly in the community.
The release of Counter-Strike 2 has caused prices for skins in the game to rise further:
Just a skin for a sniper rifle is worth $410,000
Why is his account worth so much? The player has a well-stocked inventory with rare skins from Counter-Strike 2. The value of his inventory is estimated by the site priceempire at $1.45 million, making it the third most valuable account in the database of the site.
St4ck owns an AWP Dragon Lore in a special edition (Factory New – Souvenir): Alone, the value of this weapon skin is estimated at $410,000.
Additionally, the account includes 5 stickers from the “Katowice 2014 Titan” tournament – each estimated at $91,000. The sticker is considered the most valuable in the history of the game.
Stickers in CS:GO are tied to e-sport teams and tournaments. The tournament “EMS Oee Katowice 2014” took place from March 13 to March 16, 2014.
Value of skins depends on many factors
Why are these skins so valuable? Skins have no objective value, but their value is determined by what people are willing to pay for them. Supply and demand play a role here. These skins are traded like rare stamps. Certain skins are so rare because they are unique or no longer produced. Others are popular simply because they look good.
For stickers, it is said that especially the skins from old tournaments and teams that no longer exist are extremely lucrative.
The Titan (Holo) sticker, Katowice 2014, is valuable because it has a rich, shiny blue color and is now quite old. The “Titan” team did not play a significant role back then and was eliminated in the preliminary round, but their sticker is just so nice-looking.
Skins as exchange objects and investments that increase in price
Prices in Counter-Strike 2 have recently risen again because the release of CS2 has occurred, and speculators believe that the release increases the relevance of the game and its longevity, thereby driving up prices. Record prices for skins have developed remarkably over the past 5 years:
- In 2018, we reported on MeinMMO that a weapon sold for $60,000.
- Two years ago, the AWP “Dragon Lore” was traded for $150,000.
- Now we are already talking about $410,000.
This “positive price development” indicates that many speculators believe Counter-Strike will remain relevant for a long time and that skins continue to be highly sought after.
The streamer shroud seems to have a critical view of the future prospects of CS2.
Why was he banned? It is not clear at the moment. It is suspected that St4ck may have incurred a ban due to comments made in the Steam community.
Therefore, some users believe that the account will be unbanned soon.
Others speculate that there may be fraud allegations that led to the ban, and therefore anticipate a longer-lasting ban.
How is this being commented on? Currently, especially with a lot of schadenfreude. The amount alone is already a source of amusement.
Some hope, however, that the ban will be lifted soon.
Update, 10/8, 11:48 AM: The account has been unbanned by Valve, which sparked another discussion:
