CS2 Update Shakes the Skin Market: Knives Now Available via Trade Up Contracts

Valve’s latest patch turned the CS2 economy upside down – Covert skins soar, knife prices crash, and traders rush to adapt. But how?

On October 22, 2025, Valve dropped a patch that instantly reshaped the Counter-Strike 2 economy. For the first time in the game’s history, players can craft knives directly through Trade Up Contracts – a move that sent shockwaves across the $6-billion CS2 skin market.

Within hours, Covert skins (the red-tier items from cases) spiked in price as players rushed to buy them for contracts, while knives and gloves – once symbols of rarity and prestige –lost a big chunk of their value.

This single mechanic update flipped the balance between collectors, traders, and casual players. Here’s what happened, why it matters, and how CS2 traders can survive the biggest market shake-up in years.

What Changed: The New Trade Up Contract

Before the update, the Trade Up Contract was simple: players could combine 10 skins of the same quality to receive one item of the next rarity tier. It was a popular system, but it only applied to weapon skins – knives and gloves were always case exclusives or bought through third-party markets.

Now, everything has changed. Valve expanded the mechanic so that just five Covert skins (red-tier items) can be exchanged for a knife or a pair of gloves from one of the provided collections. If the inputs are StatTrak™, the output is a StatTrak™ knife. This marks the first time in Counter-Strike history that knives can be crafted through contracts.

Official patch note:
5 StatTrak™ Covert items = 1 StatTrak™ Knife
5 regular Covert items = 1 Knife or Gloves

That single line in the patch notes triggered a buying frenzy. Players rushed to grab every Covert skin they could find, filling contracts in hopes of crafting high-tier knives. Within hours, Covert prices skyrocketed while knife values plunged.

Snapshot from white.market:

• ★ Gamma Doppler Butterfly Knife Covert Phase 4: dropped from $4550 to $1650 in two days.

• Fade  M9 Bayonet Covert: fell from $2450 to $700 in two days.

On average, the entire knife and glove market fell by almost 50%, while Covert skins became the new de facto currency of CS2 trading.

CHECK MARKET PRICES ON WHITE.MARKET

Market Reaction: Covert Skins on Fire, Knives Crash

The patch sent traders into chaos. Within hours, Covert skins turned into gold, while knives – once the crown jewels of CS2 – lost up to half their value.

Buy volume on red-tier skins spiked 400% overnight, and items like P90 Asiimov or MP9 Starlight Protector jumped 5–10x in price. Knife prices, meanwhile, nosedived – the market flooded with new supply as players crafted them nonstop.

For the first time in years, Covert items became more desirable than knives, reshaping the entire CS2 trading hierarchy.

Why Valve Did This

Valve’s goal is simple: make rare items more accessible and shift focus back to gameplay, not speculation.

For years, the knife market was driven by investors and bots, not players. By letting anyone craft knives with Covert skins, Valve leveled the playing field and reignited excitement among casual users.

Players see it as freedom. Collectors see it as betrayal. 

What Traders Should Do Now

This update hit traders the hardest. Knife values tanked, margins vanished, and old pricing models collapsed overnight. But since the change benefits the wider player base, Valve won’t roll it back – adaptation is the only move left.

The focus now shifts to Covert skins. They’re the key fuel for new Trade Up Contracts, and demand will stay high as long as players chase knives and gloves through crafting. Track the most traded Covert items, buy dips, and avoid panic selling knives – rebounds often follow big shocks like this.

Stay tactical: monitor white.market for real-time price trends, watch item graphs before entering contracts, and balance your portfolio between Covert and mid-tier skins until the market stabilizes.

We don’t give financial advice to skin traders – we just call the market as we see it.

What’s Next for the CS2 Skin Market

Our forecast.

Short term (next 1–2 weeks):

• Extreme volatility. Prices will keep swinging as traders test contract outcomes and liquidate old inventories.

• Covert skins remain overheated – expect short spikes followed by corrections.
  

Mid term (next 1–2 months):

• Market stabilization as players learn real knife drop probabilities.

• New trading patterns form around contract efficiency and “knife farming.”

• Knife prices find a new floor but stay lower than pre-patch levels.
  

Long term (3+ months):

• Knife inflation becomes the new norm – more knives, less exclusivity.

• Covert skins take center stage as the main tradeable asset.

• Some casual traders exit the market, but pros adapt fast, focusing on smart contract flips and rare StatTrak crafts.
  

In the end, the CS2 economy will most likely rebalance – leaner, faster, and more competitive. Knives won’t vanish in value, but the real game now happens in the Covert tier.

Conclusion

Years of knife collecting and speculation lost value overnight, while Covert skins became the new trading core. Complaining won’t help – only adaptation will. The traders who adjust fast, analyze data, and move with market shifts will stay on top.

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