"CS:GO" skin trading has become a huge business in the last few years, with some skins ascending to incredible heights regarding their worth. One skin, the Wild Lotus AK-47, recently sold for an astonishing €149,000, or roughly $160,000 USD.
A Rare Wild Lotus AK-47: Selling for an Unbelievable Price
This might be unsurprising for someone familiar with the skin trading community, but it is still remarkable. The Wild Lotus AK-47 skin was released in 2019, and due to its scarcity, only approximately 3,000 of this skin exists - and only a tiny fraction of those are in "Factory New" condition.
According to the story by Dexerto, a Factory New Wild Lotus AK-47 typically sells for only around $10,000. The skin that sold for €149,000 was in Factory New condition, but the added draw was the four Reason Holo stickers from the Katowice 2014 "CS:GO Major."
The Wild Lotus Skin's Journey from Valuable Collectible to High-Level Esports Accessory
These stickers are now worth around $40,000 each - so the value of the skin itself is easily doubled with their addiction. The buyer of the €149,000 Wild Lotus skin was a Chinese collector, a player with significant spending power in the "CS:GO" skin trading market, as shared by Lorenzo on Twitter.
While the skin is likely to be kept in the collector's possession, it could be lent out to professional teams to show off at future Major events. In fact, the AK-47 Wild Lotus was previously owned by someone else who loaned it to FaZe Clan player Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken in 2022.
An Estimated Price of Over $1.5 Million: The Highest-Priced 'CS:GO' Skin
The €149,000 Wild Lotus AK-47 is one of the most expensive "CS:GO" skins sold but isn't even close to the highest-priced item. Currently for sale is a Case Hardened 661 pattern AK-47 with four Titan Holo stickers from the Katowice 2014 Major, with offers over $400,000.
Even more exorbitant is a Case Hardened Karambit knife with an estimated price of over $1.5 million. As more players flock to "CS:GO," more attention is drawn to the massive trades occurring in the skin trading world.
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The Black Market of CS:GO Skins: Exploring an Industry of Sizable Spending Power
It's certainly become a high-level industry, with somewhat of a black market around these incredibly rare and expensive items. While there are still no concrete answers as to why they provide such resale value, they still showcase the remarkable spending power in the "CS:GO" skin trading community.
Although finances definitely play into it, the skin-collecting community's almost cult-like taste drives prices to such levels. Moreover, any skin can have sentimental value, whether expensive or affordable.
As "CS:GO" continues to grow and events become ever more popular, expensive skins will likely remain in demand, and their value will continue to rise. Therefore, fans are given glimpses into the incredible prices a true collector can pay for such rare and iconic skins with more comments from Kotaku.
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