If you really are far deep into Counter-Strike, you already know how big skin trading has grown. Digital designs that customize your in-game weapons have gone from simple aesthetic tweaks to highly valuable commodities, with some skins fetching thousands of dollars. But with great value comes greater risk: scammers, fake trades and a whole lot of potential headaches. Fortunately, blockchain technology is offering a safer way to trade skins. If you are tired of shady deals, keep reading to learn just how blockchain is making skin trading a whole lot safer and more transparent.
What Makes Skins So Valuable?
Many don’t know that CS skins aren’t just cosmetic. Now these things are assets and have real monetary value. Some are rare, some are in high demand and some are just cool-looking. The price, which like any collectible can also go through the roof when the market is hot for it, adds to that. The more valuable the things you are trading, the more you have to be all the more cautious when trading. There is always a risk of being scammed.
How Your Trades Stay Clean With Blockchain
While Blockchain might sound a bit confusing to you, all it means is digital ledger technology that tracks and verifies transactions both securely and publicly. Blockchain transactions do not require you to need trust in an intermediary be it a seller or a buyer-and anyone can see any transaction that has taken place.
Blockchain is able to track every exchange for CS skin trading, almost making it impossible for someone to pull a fast one. You have a public notary for every skin trade you make, with everything documented and there’s no way someone’s ‘gotta run off’ with your items.
Why Crypto is Ideal for Skin Trading
Enter cryptocurrency. Most of the skin trading platforms integrate crypto payments into their account settlement for rather obvious reasons: crypto payments are fast, bank-independent and secure. Pay with the best crypto options, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, for the best processing, along with minimal fees. Moreover, since crypto payments are on the blockchain, they are fully traceable. If you have ever had a skin trade go sour, then you will appreciate the safety net that cryptocurrency brings to the table.
No More Trusting Strangers
Everyone has been in that situation of hoping that the other guy will keep his end of the deal in a trade. You don’t have to rely on anyone’s word using blockchain’s smart contracts, however. Basically, it’s a self-running smart contract. When you have sent your crypto payment to meet the contract conditions, the skin is automatically made available to you. No surprise fees, no middleman and no waiting. It’s all coded and automatic. This also means you don’t have to sit there biting your nails trying to not lose out on the potential trade because the other party will bail.
Ditch the Centralized Platforms
Traditional skin trading platforms rely on centralized servers and those servers are highly susceptible to attacks. Decentralized platforms, running off of the blockchain, become dispersed throughout a network, reducing the possibility of any one point being compromised or going down. This, in turn, leads to more control placed on you, the trader.
Decentralization puts the power in your hands. You are not trusting third parties with your skins; you do it directly with the other trader. That’s like shaking hands in front of everybody in the room, totally transparent.
The Dark Side – Scams and Fraud
Ever heard of someone losing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in a skin trade? It’s a constant occurrence. Countless traders get conned with everything ranging from fake websites to malware that siphons skin right out of your inventory. It’s just ridiculously easy to get tricked by someone with the massive amount of blind trust involved in traditional trading setups. That is where something like blockchain could help those tired of constantly looking over their shoulders.
Avoiding Skin Duplication with Blockchain
One of the biggest possible problems with skin trading is duplication. Scammers can create fake skins that look legitimate and then deceive traders into taking valueless items in their place. On the blockchain, however, each skin is attached to a unique transaction record. This means it’s impossible to duplicate or forge any single skin. Since blockchain keeps ownership history in great detail, traders can effortlessly verify that the skin they are trading is authentic. This added layer of security ensures you get exactly what you pay for, saving you from falling into the trap of fakes.
The Role of NFTs in Skin Ownership
All NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are digital assets stored on the blockchain that guarantee particular possession of unique items, e.g. CS skins. Traders can really clearly indicate who the owner is (that will be you) and avoid getting ripped off, as they will now have an NFT representing each skin they own. The tie means to each NFT one specific skin so no two items are the same. NFTs being irrefutable proof of authenticity and ownership make them the perfect fit for the skin trading market. As NFTs continue to grow in popularity, there are likely to be more skin trading platforms adding them into the fold to provide an even safer trading experience.
By using blockchain and the best crypto payment methods, CS skin trading is far way less risky. You will get transparency, security and control all those things that the traditional methods of trading struggle to offer.
